The Kermadec filly Amokura has gone from being beaten out of a place in a Taree maiden to a Channel 7 Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) winner in her first preparation.
Ridden by Damien Oliver for Kris Lees, Amokura received a cosy run from her inside barrier and was strong to the line in defeating the Rubick filly Reo by one and a half lengths with the Maurice (JPN) filly Noah 'n' A Deel the same distance back in third.
After breaking her maiden over 1850m at Newcastle on April 22, Amokura earned her place in the Oaks with a dominant performance over 1800m at the Sunshine Coast on May 21.
It was the second win in the Classic for Lees after Vitesse Dane in 2005.
“They can come from nowhere. She’s always shown us something,” Lees said.
“It’s her first race preparation, so we were always guarded with how far we could go with her. She put the writing on the wall with her win at Newcastle by a big margin, so we brought her up with the view of trying to sneak her in with a bit of prize money. She did that at the Sunshine Coast and snuck into the race.
“Got Ollie (Damien Oliver) to come up and ride; the rest is history.
“She probably got further back than we were thinking from the nice draw, but she tracked up lovely coming into the corner. It was just a matter of getting some clear air, he still had plenty of horse left. He (Oliver) weaved a passage and got the job done.
“All along she gave us the impression she’d get over ground, just where her ceiling was we weren’t sure, we were running over shorter trips. When she won that race at Newcastle, I said we better start making plans.
“It was her first preparation, so she’s going to get a well-deserved break. We will reassess her from there.”
A homebred for the Fraser family’s St Aubins Scone Partnership, Amokura is one of four winners from five to race for the unraced Quest For Fame (GB) mare Fain.
Fain is a half-sister to the talented Group II-placed Paulini (Singspiel), stakes-placed Tide (Galileo), and to the dams of stakes-winners Gundec and Eastern Prince.
Fain has not had a live foal since Amokura. She was one of 13 mares to visit the unheralded Frankel stallion Last Kingdom (USA) last spring.
Amokura is the seventh stakes winner and a remarkable fourth Group 1 winner for Darley Stud’s Tefilo stallion Kermadec.
