Three stables share in heat success

By Tim O’Connor (HRV)

The all-conquering Emma Stewart stable had 12 runners in Saturday night’s Pryde’s EasiFeed Victoria Oaks heats, but it was fillies from rival camps that stole the show.

Russell Jack’s top pacer Just Hope and Sebastian Steenhuis’ Relentless Me led all the way to claim victory in their respective qualifiers before Geoff Webster’s Elegant darted through along the sprint lane to win the third and final heat.

Jack’s son and driver Nathan was full of praise for Just Hope after she held the lead from barrier one and clung on in a desperate finish to prevail by a short half head on the line.

She defeated Stewart-trained Petillante and Encipher, with stablemate Star Celebrity fourth to claim the other qualifying spot for the Group 1 final on October 8.

“She’ll always have a special place in my heart,” Nathan Jack said.

“I thought she fought it out really well because the Tonkin (Stewart-trained) ones there are impossible to hold out late, and I knew that they’d be fitter than us and we just had to try and out-sprint them.”

Just Hope won in a mile rate of 1:59:6, the same time Relentless Me recorded in winning heat two.

Driver Jack Laugher rolled straight to the front from barrier two and the daughter of Restrepo was never headed on her way to a commanding two-and-a-half metre victory.

She had it all her own way in front and defeated Stewart-trained Jo An Jo – who had the trail – with Wendys Wish (Russell Jack/Nathan Jack) and Amore Vita (Nathan Purdon/Chris Alford) getting through to the final by running third and fourth respectively.

“She deserved, probably, to win a race like that,” Laugher said.

“The circumstances of the race, she probably had to win it with the run she had. Nonetheless, she’s still been going really good and she’s a super little filly.

“I’m glad she has a heat of the Oaks win beside her name…”

A masterful Anthony Butt drive helped Elegant score in the third heat and end the winning streak of Stewart’s star filly Soho Historia.

Butt speared to the lead from barrier five and then handed up to Stewart-trained rival Beach Life before awaiting his chance along the sprint lane.

It came in the home straight and Elegant slipped home quick enough to beat Soho Historia, who peeled three-wide with cover down the back straight but couldn’t sustain the run long enough and fell short by just over a metre.

“I’ve said the last two or three months when I’ve started driving her that the Oaks will really suit her – the 2700m,” Butt said.

“Just remember, she won that race that was eventually a no-race. She beat Soho Historia fair and square that night in a pretty good field, so she probably had more form than it looked on paper.

“When you get the run like that, she’s always going to be a big chance.”

Ellen Bartley-trained Miss Chantilly was close-up behind the top two in third, while Beach Life clung on to make the final in fourth.

The third heat was clearly the quickest of the three, with the field running a mile rate of 1:57.2 for the 2760m trip.

The Group 1 Victoria Oaks Final barrier draw will be conducted during a live broadcast at SEN studios from 7pm on Monday night. You can catch all the action at www.TrotsVision.com.au