Having just her fourth career start, the Thomas Carberry trained Strictly Business looks one to follow for the future as the daughter of Yulong’s Grunt (NZ) powered clear to win the $1m Group 1 VRC Crown Oaks (2500m) by a widening three and a half lengths at Flemington on Thursday.
Trained at Ballarat, just like Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup hero Half Yours, Strictly Business resumed from a spell just 13 days ago to break her maiden over 1400m at just her second start, before jumping to the 2000m of last Saturday’s Group 2 Wakeful Stakes second up when finishing second behind today’s Oaks favourite Getta Good Feeling.
Starting the second favourite, the filly jumped from the outside barrier of 13 with jockey John Allen taking her back to last while Ciaron Maher’s Zouclaire went forward to take up the running.
While the leader ensured that the race was truly run, Mark Zahra and Getta Good Feeling were back in the pack with only five runners behind them.
Surprisingly Chris Waller’s first ever VRC Oaks runner, the New Zealand bred The Pearls (NZ) was one of the first to make a move, coming around the outside of the field from third last, and as she passed Getta Good Feeling, Zahra knew that it was his time to go to keep the well fancied filly in his sights.
Passing the 400m mark it was a line of four as The Pearls and Getta Good Feeling looked set to fight it out, but jockey John Allen had other plans as he swamped the leaders aboard Strictly Business who accelerated with ease, showing superior staying ability.
Not pushed out in the run to the line, Strictly Business pulled away by three and a half lengths with The Pearls battling away for second, just ahead of The Autumn Sun filly After Summer in third.
Weakening in the run to the line, the Danny O’Brien trained So You Think filly Getta Good Feeling didn’t run out the trip, finishing over six lengths from the winner in sixth position.
With the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes once again proving the best lead in race, Strictly Business became the seventh Oaks winner to have finished either first or second from the last eight running’s of the Wakeful Stakes.
Clearly over-joyed by the win, Thomas Carberry was extremely proud of his filly.
“It’s an incredible journey, racing, and I think everybody’s proud of it. You meet people here today and they’re legends and to think you can do it, it’s great.”
Coming along way in such a short time, breaking her maiden at Ballarat 13 days ago to an Oaks victory at Flemington is a massive achievement.
“We just looked at her as a horse for the future,” said Carberry. “She just did things that day that were not normal.
“It takes a really good horse to do what she did, even in her maiden. It just put the Wakeful on the radar. It became possible after she ran so well, she needed a trip to show her best.”
“I think I'm very, very lucky. John Allen and Declan Bates have been such a great help to me in my business. They always help me and give me good advice. That said, John Allen doesn't give you advice because that's not his thing. His thing is to ride the horse, and he just does that so well.
“Two-thousand five-hundred metres, who else would you want on other than Johnny Allen, especially at Flemington.”
“She’s a filly on the up. We had this race in mind for a long time. She missed a run at Geelong and we were put on the back foot a bit, but we found a race that suited Johnny and us at Ballarat a couple of weeks ago and she came through that so well we decided to take our chance in the Wakeful because she’s that type of horse.
“Today came on the radar because she ran so well there. She looked like she needed the 2500-metre trip and that was what happened.
“Ballarat is a happening place, winning the Melbourne Cup for the McEvoy’s and we’re very happy with this result today.”
Jockey John Allen isn’t a stranger to the Flemington 2500m, winning the Group 1 VRC Derby on both Hitotsu and Extra Brut, but Thursday’s Oaks win was something special.
“What a filly to win her maiden only two weeks ago,” enthused Allen. “What a great effort by Tommy. He rides his own work. Tommy is a neighbour of mine, he only lives two doors down from me.”
“She’s got no early speed so we weren’t going to go changing tactics today. We went back to last, hugged the rails for as long as we could. We were following the right horses into the straight and I knew at the 600 (metres) we were going to run the trip, so my confidence grew at that stage.”
“It's hard to imagine, she was raw as you could possibly be. It was obviously a great win at Ballarat, but she was just that raw and inexperienced.”
“And then Tommy rang me and said there wasn't much coming up for her, only the Wakeful, and I said why not have a crack and see how he goes.”
“She ran so well there, we had to come to the Oaks. So look, what a great filly too, to do what she's done. She's pulled up, not a bother on her, and hopefully she's something to be getting pretty excited about.”
“Nice tempo. The plan was always to go back, she doesn't have any speed, and she can over-race at times too, so I was happy to take my medicine early.”
“They went a good gallop, and she actually was behind the bridle a bit early, but once they steadied it up mid-race, she got on the bridle, and I was kind of following the right horses at that stage. I had James McDonald just outside me, he was following Ben Allen who was following Mark Zahra, who were probably three of the main dangers.”
“And then, when they peeled off, I was able to come up and underneath them. And to be honest, I knew it was all over. The way she rounded off her race the last day, I knew it was nearly all over turning in.”
Taking her overall record to two wins and a second from four starts and $736,150 in earnings, Strictly Business joins the Listed Tasmanian Derby runner up Kicking King as one of two winners from two to races out the 1400m-winning Uncle Mo mare Tivoli Lass.
From the extended family of Ka Ying Rising’s sire Shamexpress as well as this season’s Group 1 Caulfield Guineas winner Autumn Boy, Tivoli Lass was an astute purchase for breeder Martin Falvey, parting ways with just $600 to secure the mare online.
Tivoli Lass’ current 2yo filly is a daughter of Royal Meeting (IRE) named Refuse To Curtsy who is also in the stable of Carberry, while there is no yearling with the mare was not covered in the following season, she has since foaled a colt by Churchill (IRE) in mid-August this year.
Joining dual Group 1 winner Veight, Strictly Business became the second individual Group 1 winner for Yulong’s two-time Group 1 Grunt (NZ) who stands this season at a fee of $19,800 (inc. GST).
