After claiming the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) on Saturday, the Matt Laurie-trained Treasurethe Moment ($3.10) has backed it up five days later to secure victory in the $1 million Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) on Thursday afternoon.
The daughter of Alabama Express is the first horse since Willowy (2021) to do the Wakeful/VRC Oaks double and did so in relatively painless fashion thanks to an expert steer by Damien Lane.
The star hoop was able to lob the $3.10 favourite with Marantelli Bet into the one-one throughout the journey, landing in an almost identical position as he did in the Wakeful on Saturday.
The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Killcare Beachgirl ($21.00) was the lamplighter and strode out at a moderate clip under Tim Clark, with Inevitable Truth ($34.00) and Too Darn Discreet ($11.00) landing in the trail.
Powers Of Opal ($3.70) had no luck early in the race, being forced to sit three-wide without cover for the first 1000m of the journey before slotting in the back-half of the field.
Inevitable Truth was first to mount a challenge and gave a strong kick under Jye McNeil, attempting to give the well-supported favourite with horse racing bookmakers the slip at the top of the straight.
Lane was always in striking distance aboard Treasurethe Moment, however, and once popped the question, the three-year-old was happy to oblige as the pair bolted clear to claim the 163rd edition of the time-honoured VRC Oaks.
2024 Group 1 VRC Oaks Replay – Treasurethe Moment
Matt Laurie was emotional as he spoke post-race and couldn’t believe how well things panned out on Thursday.
“I can’t really put it into words. I’m still shaking,” Laurie said.
“It was a painless watch. It is a dream to win a Group 1 in this week.
“It is 20 years of work really trying to achieve something like this. I’m just so grateful to my team at home and to Team Yulong. They have supported me. This is a home–bred. To watch her progress to win a G1 is incredible.
“She is obviously very talented. She just aids herself in the way she just goes to sleep in the run. She conserves all her energy. She lets down. It was very painless.
“I’m still shaking a little bit. I will enjoy it. It’s a dream. We will celebrate long and hard I can guarantee that.”
Damien Lane was elated with the win and was quick to credit the Laurie camp.
“She is a beauty,” he said.
“Just kept improving this preparation. Matt said to me before I rode her last start he thought that she was a really good horse in the making. She has proved them right. She is a bloody ripper.
“I just whipped her into the three back, one off position as you do. She jumps well so it gives you a good option in the first part of the race. I got a nice bit of speed where I could tuck in. Travelled perfectly throughout the run.
“It is a tried and tested method (the Wakeful). I did the same on Aristia. I was confident that was the right form. A couple of other horses coming through which you weren’t sure of – the Spring Champion and the Ethereal.
“I was as confident as you can be.”
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