Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Prominent Victorian trainer and driver Mick Stanley is finding success in the WA Oaks a difficult achievement, but he has high hopes of driving Victorian invader Soho Seraphine to victory in the Trots WA $150,000 classic for three-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Soho Seraphine, bred and owned by West Australian businessman Rob Watson, warmed up for the group 1 WA Oaks in wonderful style when she began speedily from out wide at barrier eight and set the pace on her way to an effortless win at her WA debut last Friday night.
Soho Seraphine will not be able to use her excellent gate speed this week because she has drawn two out on the back line at barrier No. 11.
The No. 11 barrier did not help Watson and Stanley when Soho Burning Love, at her only WA appearance, was a $5.50 chance in the 2018 WA Oaks. She settled down in ninth position, began a three-wide burst with 950m to travel and quickly moved to fifth at the bell.
Soho Burning Love then moved to second at the 400m but was hampered for room in the home straight when she got into a tangle with Colin Brown’s Amelias Courage and finished eighth behind the fast-finishing $139.80 outsider Our Major Mama.
Soho Burning Love, who had finished second in the New South Wales Oaks at Menangle before travelling to WA, went on to excel in America where she was retired with earnings of $612,763 from 28 wins and 36 placings from 100 starts.
Watson bred and owned the Mach Three mare Angel Bromac, whose first progeny is Soho Seraphine, who like Soho Burning Love finished second in a NSW Oaks, behind Windy Hill Tara in February this year.
The New Zealand-bred Angel Bromac and Soho Angel contested the 2017 WA Oaks when both fillies were trained by Kim Prentice. Stanley drove Soho Angel, a $119.20 outsider, who ran on from ninth at the bell to finish fourth behind Maczaffair, while Prentice finished 11TH from barrier No. 11 with Angel Bromac.
Watson’s filly Soho Interceptor was a $101 outsider for trainer Glenn Elliott and reinsman Shannon Suvaljko in the 2019 WA Oaks when she led early from barrier five before wilting to finish eighth behind Has No Fear.
Perhaps it was an indication of better things to come when the Elliott-trained and Watson-owned Soho Gigolo surged home from the rear for reinsman Aiden De Campo to win a race at Gloucester Park on Tuesday evening when the five-year-old gelding started at $69.20 and at $101 on the fixed market.
Despite her back-row draw Soho Seraphine is a warm favourite at $2 on the TABtouch fixed market. Her toughest rivals appear likely to be August Moon, Turn The Page and Zephyra.
Gary Hall Jnr, who has won the WA Oaks with Miss Holmes in 2004 and Major Reality in 2015, will drive August Moon for trainer Luke Edwards.
August Moon started out wide at barrier eight in the Daintys Daughter Classic last Friday week when she was restrained at the start and was last in the field of twelve at the bell before sustaining a powerful three-wide burst to finish fifth behind Turn The Page. She dashed over the final 400m sections in 27.82sec. and 27.75sec. She had won stylishly at her previous five starts.
August Moon, a winner at nine of her 17 starts, will begin from the No. 4 barrier on the front line, with Hall saying: “We will press forward at the start and hopefully will be able to find the front. Her last-start fifth was huge; it was as good as any of her wins.
Deni Roberts will drive Turn The Page for trainers Greg and Skye Bond, who won the Oaks with Dodolicious in 2016. Greg Bond also prepared Millwood Meg for her win in 2010.
Turn The Page, a winner at five of her eight starts, will begin from the outside barrier (No. 3) on the back line. “Obviously, the draw is not great,” said Roberts. “August Moon and Zephyra, from the front line, have definitely got the draw advantage.
“But Turn The Page is tough; she can sprint, and I can drive her according to the way the race is run. “Turn The Page is not one-dimensional, so the draw doesn’t hurt her as much as it would the others. She is not impossible.”
Turn The Page ran a splendid trial for the Oaks last Friday week when she began from barrier five, was not pushed early and then raced in the breeze outside the pacemaker Castella Dellacqua before forging to the front in the final 50m to win from the frontrunner and Zephyra, who sat behind Castella Dellacqua all the way.
Zephyra, a winner at seven of her twelve starts, is favourably drawn at barrier two on the front line, and trainer-reinsman Dylan Egerton-Green is expecting a strong effort from the Sweet Lou filly.
“It is a good draw, and she has drawn better than the favoured runners,” said Egerton-Green. “It looks like that she will give some cheek; she is getting better and better with every run.”
Trainer Jesse Moore, who bred and is a part-owner of Zephyra, is hoping for a good run from Our Lady Jen, a Captaintreacherous filly he trains at Northam. Our Lady Jen has won at seven of her 25 starts and should be prominent after beginning from the inside of the back line. She will be driven by Trent Wheeler.