Lowland Key Lead Up to Oaks

The penultimate race in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, the Group 3 Homebush Partnership Masterton Lowland Stakes (2100m), has drawn a field of 15 class fillies who have the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) very much on their radars.

With Katie Lee (Pins) - who has already been crowned 2009/10 New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year with an unassailable 38 points - and Zarzuela (Zabeel) both set to take on the boys in the Group 1 Telecom NZ Derby (2400m) this weekend, the Group 1 Wellfield Stud New Zealand Oaks on 20 March looks a wide open affair.

The $70,000 Lowland Stakes on Saturday looks a perfect build-up to the classic with the form out of the race sure to offer plenty of insight into the 2010 NZ Oaks set for Trentham.

Number 1 in the book on Saturday is the Shaune Ritchie trained Keep the Peace (Keeper x Peace of Mind, by Wild Rampage) who has excelled at 1600m, beating Katie Lee in the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes two starts ago, before being the unlucky runner of the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic last start over 2000m.

With 13 points in the Filly of the Year Series, Keep the Peace holds second position with a win on Saturday securing 6 points, while 3 points are on offer for second, and 1.5 points for the third place-getter.

The only other filly in the race with points to her name in the Series is Wayne and Vanessa Hillis' Marsh Harbour (Volksraad x Pasithea, by Crested Wave) with the three points she gained after placing a creditable second behind Keep the Peace in the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes. The bay filly looks to make amends at the distance after finishing unplaced at 1800m and 2000m in her past two starts.

Jumping one outside Keep the Peace in barrier 7 is John Sargent's Sirani (Galileo x Sneetch, by Grosvenor). The half-sister to Black Mamba has shown she will relish the 2100m with two wins at 2100-2200m in her past three starts.

Sirani looks the biggest danger to Keep the Peace and from the barrier Darryl Bradley should be able match moves with the Keeper filly in running.

Perennial strong finisher Corsage (Volksraad x Spray, by Entrepreneur) finished a good fifth just three lengths behind Katie Lee last time out in the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic and has always shown class from her juvenile year where she placed at Group 1 level.

Barrier 1 might see the Mark Walker filly settle closer to the pace on Saturday and that could, coupled with her explosive finish, see her right in the finish.

Walker also saddles up Posavina (Tiger Hill x Dance My Dance, by Sadlers Wells) in the race. Bred to enjoy an Oaks distance, Posavina ran a game sixth in the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m) at her last start after leading for a majority of the race and kicking on.

Ken Kelso's Miss Sharapova (Ustinov x Young and Free, by Kenmare) and Danica Guy's Poppy Rose (Thorn Park x Ngaio, by Nassipour) have both won at the races on two occasions and have drawn 12 and 10 respectively on Saturday.

Both fillies look set to enjoy 2100m with Poppy Rose winning last time over 1800m and Miss Sharapova solid in the Group 2 2000m event after being hampered 700m from home.

The next three in the book, Lisa Latta's Platinum Princess (Keeper x Merle Park, by Machiavellian), Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen's Southern Heights (Align x Alpine Beauty, by Khozaam), and Peter McKenzie's Bedlum (Exploding Prospect x Maelstrom, by Rosenkavalier) are all Central Districts-based fillies.

All three will step up over 1600m for the first time in the Lowland but have shown tremendous consistency in brief race careers to date.

Another ultra-consistent filly is Ross McCarrol's Irish Rose (Ishiguru x Spring Creek, by Vice Regal) who travels down from Cambridge to contest the $70,000 Hawke's Bay feature after breaking her maiden over a mile at her last start. She has only once finished worse than sixth on seven raceday outings.

Kevin Gray's duo of Gofonze (Golan x Elfonze, by Krasnapolski) and Promenade (Savabeel x River Century, by Centaine), Dave Enright's Crown Gem (Stark South x Mejeiro, by Bigstone), and Mike and Paul Moroney's Sazzana (Savabeel x Bunyah, by Distant View) round out the field of fillies with Oaks aspirations.

The $70,000 Homebush Partnership Masterton Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hawke's Bay is set to jump 4.09pm NZ time on Saturday.