Beaten VRC Oaks favourite Aloisia will be set for another staying test in the Autumn and be prepared for the 2018 Group 1 $1m Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick during the Sydney Autumn Carnival.
Aloisia, above, will be set for the 2018 Australian Oaks at Randwick. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Aloisia was sent out as the $1.80 favourite for the Group 1 $1m Kennedy (VRC) Oaks (2500m) at Flemington yesterday and even though she faded in the straight to finish sixth to the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Pinot, her trainer Aaron Purcell is willing to forgive the Azamour filly’s run and is happy to test her as a stayer next preparation.
“I’m sure she’ll run 2400 in the autumn. We’ll probably head towards the AJC Oaks and hopefully win a few races on the way through,” Purcell told racing.com.
Purcell said that Aloisia had to overcome being re-shod behind the barriers in front of the huge Oaks Day crowd and then she began better than normal and had to work a little in the early stages before settleing in the middle stages.
“She sprung a shoe before the start and had to get replated and unfortunately it was in front of the big crowd, so she was quite worked up,” Purcell said.
“She jumped well, probably a bit too well, and then horses pushed up inside her and forced her wide and she probably didn’t settle well enough. She had a good enough run in the middle of the race, but I thought the work she did early took away from her finish.”
Aloisia had shown her class in the lead up to the VRC Oaks with a win in the Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 14 against the fillies and then beat the colts and geldings in winning the Group 2 $200,000 Drummond Gold Vase (2040m) at The Valley on October 28.
VRC Oaks jockey Luke Nolen couldn’t decide if Aloisia’s defeat was due to the pre-race re-shoeing or her inability to run out the 2500m but is also willing to give the filly another go at the mile and a half in the Australian Oaks.
“We probably haven’t answered every question, but we’ll probably have another go at the mile-and-a-half in the autumn,” Nolen said.
Aloisia is certain to clash with Pinot again in the Australian Oaks after the Pierro filly provided Gai Waterhouse with her first win in the VRC Oaks.