Scarlett Lady Favourite for Oaks
23 May 2011
The smart filly Scarlett Lady has more than earned her position as the Queensland Oaks favourite with a brilliant win in the Group 3 Hidden Dragon The Roses (2020m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Unbeaten in her previous four starts in New Zealand, including a last start victory over the older mares in the Group 2 Travis Stakes, Scarlett Lady (NZ) (Savabeel x On Call) has taken her unbeaten run to five wins with this Australian Group 3 victory for her trainers Graeme & Debbie Rogerson.
Ridden by the inform jockey James McDonald, the three-year-old daughter of Savabeel tracked the race favourite Divorces throughout the running, and at the 350 metre mark McDonald set the filly alight and went after Divorces and race leader Savannah's Choice.
Impressive in the finish, running the last 600 metres in 34.95 seconds and with an official margin of three-quarters-of-a-length, Scarlett Lady now heads to the Group 1 Queensland Oaks a $3.50 favourite, with last start winner Fibrillation on the second line of betting at $5.
New Zealand bred horses have a very strong record in the Queensland Oaks, with six winners since 2000, with Miss Keepsake (NZ), Eskimo Queen (NZ), Vouvray (NZ), Zagalia (NZ), Ethereal (NZ) and Giovana (NZ) all being successful.