Treasurethe Moment secure VRC/Australian Oaks double
Treasurethe Moment ($1.55) has been forced to dig deep, claiming a tough victory in the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon, securing the VRC/Australian Oaks double in the process.
The daughter of Alabama Express fell into a comfortable position in transit, stalking from the one-one under Damien Lane, however, Sun ‘N’ Sand () got a picnic up on speed, ticking over some very soft sectionals in the middle stages to turn the 2400m contest into a genuine sit-and-sprint affair.
You Wahng () was able to steal rails runs and hold a close position towards the lead, while New Zealand raider Leica Lucy ($4) was unsuited to the sluggish tempo, pulling her way three-wide in the early stages.
Damien Lane never panicked, however, keeping the three-year-old filly in a rhythm as they continued to slow it down into the home turn, with Treasurethe Moment poised to surge over the top with 400m left to travel.
Sun ‘N’ Sand gave a bold kick under the urgings of Alysha Collett, and although she briefly appeared to steal the race, Treasurethe Moment knuckled down to task, claiming victory and justifying the short price with horse racing bookmakers.
It’s a third Group 1 success for the Matt Laurie-trained filly as he spoke to the achievement post-race.
“I was pretty nervous about today,” Laurie said.
“I mean, small field and, you know, often they can be a bit kind of messy. It was sort of slow to watch. Didn’t have a great deal of cover at times, was on the wrong lead. Then they all came off the turn. She was under siege.
“We haven’t seen that for a while and to see her dig deep in the concluding stages, just an incredible effort and I couldn’t be prouder of the horse and the team to help get it to this point.
“She had to really fight back on the inside down at Sandown one day. So I knew she’d keep coming. Her work’s just been incredible. The last month has been unbelievable. I’m not sure whether we’ll be coming to this sort of distance range anytime soon.
“Damian will give us a good guide on the following preparation, but I’m obviously just a bit emotional about the last few months.
“You have a plan, but you don’t expect things to go the way you dream. To have it work out the way it has for us is just unbelievable. We had four races mapped out for her to win and to do it, is just amazing.”
Damien Lane was elated with his mount as he spoke post-race.
“Yeah, she’s a beauty, she’s a pleasure to ride, she got me out of a bit of a sticky spot at the top of the straight,” said Lane.
“The leader really sprinted well and I probably gave her a bit too much leeway and had a bit of ground to make up.
“She ended up knuckling down when it counted, just those real good special horses, just find a way.
“I was hoping more than anything and with 100m to go, she knuckled down and when those in front were getting tired, she just found the line.”
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