Overdue Oxford Poet takes out Winter Stakes
EARLIER in the week we mentioned that Oxford Poet was a top chance to win the $160,000 Winter Stakes at $6 with Crownbet.com.au and the proved the case on Saturday.
The Kim Waugh-trained gelding didn’t have the best of luck last time out at Rosehill, but it made amends on Saturday with an all-the-way win at stakes level.
The five-year-old bounced nicely with Tim Clark in the saddle and it held off a strong late finish from Zin Zan Eddie to score by a neck in a time of 1.24:17.
“He got into a lovely rhythm,” Clark said. “He was really able to control the race today, gave a good kick on straightening and held them off well.”
Waugh was disappointed with its last start effort, but knew her son of Dylan Thomas had improved significantly since the run.
“Definitely did (expect improvement)”, Waugh said. “Last start he went a bit keen. I wasn’t disappointed what happened last start.
“I knew he was spot on today. He deserved to win this. He’s been close in so many black type races.”
Oxford Poet finished second in the At Sea behind That’s A Good Idea to kick off its campaign before running third behind Danish Twist in the June Stakes.
The win took its overall record to five wins and 12 placings from 22 starts and more than $500,000 in stakes earnings.
The Matthew Smith-trained Zin Zan Eddie flashed home late for second at $6 for the place at Crownbet with last start winner Ninth Legion holding on well for third at $2.90.