Unbeaten this preparation, Philia will be looking to emulate her half-sister Duais in winning the $1million Group I BRC Queensland Oaks (2200m) on Saturday, but a swarm of up and comers are nipping at her heels, so who are they?
Race fans and punters are rejoicing as an absolutely cracking card of 10 stakes races dispels the gloom of last Saturday’s abandoned Derby Day meeting in Brisbane.
Eagle Farm will be basking in winter sunshine, the track will be back in the good range and some of the best horses in the country will be galloping over the Queensland turf.
As part of the re-jigged program the 3YO Classic double header will kick off with the 2025 G1 Queensland Oaks over 2200m, and a full field of 18 quality fillies will face the starter.
Last year the unheralded Socks Nation at $101 became the biggest blow out result since Mon Mekki in 2002 at $51 and that win proved valuable in the sale ring as Socks Nation was sold last week for $1million at the MM National Sale.
Neither Socks Nation or Mon Mekki had run in a stakes race as a leadup to their Oaks victories, nor did Amokura who won in 2023, Miss Keepsake (2010),or Zagalia (2003).
The 2200m distance at which the Queensland Oaks has been contested since 2015 (with one exception - Provocative's year 2016) does open the door for a filly who is a natural middle distance performer, but perhaps not a true “Classic” type.
The race was run over 2400m from its inception in 1951 (Malt Maid got the cookies) until 2015 and during that time winners included greats such as Evening Peal, Analie, Denise's Joy, Surround, Lowan Star, Triscay, Joie Denise, Arctic Scent, and Cups heroine Ethereal.
Naturally it was always a Principal Race and was granted its G1 status in 1980.
In 2015 - the first year the Oaks was run at 2200m - it was none other than the freakish Winx who greeted the judge, her first G1 win in a career nobody watching that day could have dreamed would come to pass.
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Safe to say we probably don't have a future four times Cox Plate winner going around this year, but we do have a bunch of classy fillies we will be hearing plenty more about in future on the track and at stud when their time comes.
An interesting mix of well credentialled fillies go up against some very progressive types.
Benagil (Manhattan Rain) - the only G1 winner in the field having claimed the Australasian Oaks last month at Morphettville - naturally heads the market with locally trained star Philia (All Too Hard) who won the traditional Oaks leadup The Roses and is bidding for her fifth straight win.
Her Roses rivals will be hoping to turn the tables here including Benagil who failed to flatter there, with placegetters Movin Out (Staphanos) and Jenni's Meadow (Brutal) leading the charge.
G1 ATC Oaks placed You Wahng (So You Think) also comes through The Roses while Real Class (Vadamos) took on the boys and was unplaced in the QLD Derby lead up.
There's plenty more genuine chances - Sweltering (Too Darn Hot) was wide all the way and unleashed a big run when runner up to Benagil in Adelaide.
The runaway Gold Coast Bracelet winner Pinito (Trapeze Artist) looked like anything that day sustaining a long run to smash them by three lengths on an extremely wet track - but she's never been unplaced on dry either and is attracting plenty of support as she tackles this trip and level for the first time.
Beware the Kiwi raiders! They have a good record in the race and She's A Dealer (Ace High) steps up in trip to try as she attempts to add to that success.
Eclair Encore (Maurice) was all set to run in the Derby having gained a start and now lines up here.
Churchill's Choice (Churchill), Let's Fly (Flying Artie), Amplify (Microphone) and Shangri La Impact (Staphanos) are progressive fillies who have shown well above average ability.
Tactics will be interesting as Philia will cross and probably lead in an attempt to control the speed, but others drawn wide such as Sweltering, Shangri La Impact and Eclair Encore might have exactly the same idea.
Jenni's Meadow has finally drawn the barrier to get a good run, just needing that little bit of clear running at the right time.
Benagil, Pinito, She's A Dealer, Ella Hazel and Movin Out will all go back and be hoping there's mad speed on up front.
Top Tip: JENNI'S MEADOW
This classy daughter of impressive young sire Brutal is bidding to give Lindsay Park and the Hayes family their first ever G1 winner in Queensland.
I think Jenni's Meadow is a great chance to break that particular hoodoo, coming into the Oaks off a slashing run in The Roses behind Philia.
She was the first winner for her sire and has shown great ability since day one, when she won on debut at Moonee Valley as a two year old and went on to win at Listed level at the mile in the final and sixth start of her juvenile season. She's tough.
Jenni's Meadow returned in the Spring and was runner up to Too Darn Discreet in the Ethereal Stakes. Notably she did not go on to the VRC Oaks being given more time. This is her first attempt beyond 2000m and I think she's going to love it.
Her sire Brutal by O'Reilly is out of a mare by the Spectrum son Golan, G1 2000 Guineas winner and runner up in The Derby, a completely uncommercial sire ( though VRC Derby winner Kibbutz was sired by him when he briefly shuttled to our climes) - nevertheless a stallion with powerhouse Classic genetics and of great interest as a broodmare sire.
Brutal is bred to sire great fillies - who can count how many O'Reilly is responsible for as sire or damsire - paddocks full of them!
Brutal’s pedigree page is full of stakes winning /producing females.
Jenni's Meadow is out of the winning Meadow by Redoute's Choice, also dam of very tough West Aussie staying mare Flower In The Wind (stakes placed at three) and a half sister to the dam of SA Fillies Classic winner Mimi's Award.
They are daughters of stakes placed, G2 winner Strawberry Field by Encosta de Lago, in turn a daughter of the outstanding sprinting mare Red Labelle by Blevic and one of only three foals - two of them stakes winners, the other a stakes producer - left by that mare.
A $260,000 yearling from the Raheen Stud draft on the MM Gold Coast in 2023, Jenni’s Meadow is owned and raced by Cape Schanck Stud and while she’s no Pride of Jenni, she might just be there next G1 winner!
Jenni's Meadow doesn't have the highly inbred pedigree I am frequently talking about but she does have an immensely focused linebred and “nicking” pedigree in further removes.
First there's the obvious - the pedigree brings together Last Tycoon / O'Reilly, Redoute's Choice, Encosta de Lago, Pompeii Court, Rainbow Quest, Generous - all names we expect to see in winning Classic pedigrees.
Some of the most notable linebreeding created includes:
The Blue Hen Where You Lead through her grandsons Scenic and Rainbow Quest
The Blue Hen Schiaparelli through her descendants Last Tycoon, Masthead and Shantung
Blue Hen Best In Show via Try My Best and Redoute's Choice
Duplications of Bletchingly and his sire Biscay, Relic, Mill Reef, Nijinsky, Silly Season to name a few.
Finally Jenni’s Meadow has drawn a gate - she's been working overtime her last couple of starts. She will hopefully get a nice uninterrupted run with regular jockey Ethan Brown aboard and become the second G1 winner for her exciting young sire, and the first for the Hayes dynasty in Queensland!
Next best: PHILIA
Is Philia potentially as good as Ethereal (2001), Scarlett Lady (2011) and Youngstar (2018)? That's the elite company she will join if she completes the Roses-Oaks double, to become only the fourth filly to do so.
She's got the right pedigree.
Unlike many Oaks winners each of the above fillies went on to decorated careers as older mares in open company, and the same can be said for Philia's half sister Duais (Success Express) who was a runaway QLD Oaks winner and AJC Oaks runner up before going on to glory at the highest level in the G1 Tancred Stakes and Australian Cup along with multiple placings in the nation's best WFA races.
Philia and Duais are daughters of Meerlust by Hennessy, whose modest racetrack career was no indication whatsoever of her powerhouse potential in the breeding barn.
Philia is Meerlust's sixth foal and third stakes winner; before Duais came Baccarat Baby - by Casino Prince whose great son All Too Hard is Philia's sire - twice a black type winner at a mile and subsequently sold for $650k as a breeding prospect. Of her other three so far to race all were fillies, two multiple winners.
Meerlust's family is that of the Blue Hen Fanfreluche, ancestress of Flying Spur, All Too Hard's tail male line.
Meerlust's breeding record is a fine example of “blood will out.” She was purchased as a yearling for $22k by Matthew Irwin and the Harris family of Queensland and her sole win in five starts was on debut at Grafton.
The Canadian bred matriarch Fanfreluche by Northern Dancer was not only a great race mare she created a vast dynasty of influential descendants of both sexes. Her progeny L'Enjoleur, L'extravagante, La Voyageuse, L'On Vite and Grand Luxe in particular all bred on with much success globally and have fared very well in Australia.
Philia descends from the Fanfreluche daughter Red Luce by Secretariat's champion son General Assembly and her dam Meerlust is bred 4m x 4m to Damascus, 5f x 5m to Secretariat, 5m x 4f to Northern Dancer and x5f,5f Native Dancer so she really packs a genetic punch!
Philia's sire All Too Hard is out of the extraordinary producer Helsinge from the dam line of the Danish bred dual Oaks winner Love Song which has become a force to be reckoned with on these shores.
Philia's damsire Johannesburg by Hennessy by Storm Cat is very active here at the moment through his mighty tail male descendant Justify.
He shuttled here as did his sire Hennessy - who left the G1 middle distance champion Grand Armee and QLD Derby winner Half Hennessy among his best - and Johannesburg sired the memorable ATC Oaks winner and grand stayer Once Were Wild in his time here.
Philia is in the mould of her sister Duais, a horse with high cruising speed. She comes to the Oaks at her seventh career start unbeaten in her past four and looked to be only just really hitting her straps in her commanding Roses performance.
Her gifted trainer David Vandyke is a noted conditioner of fillies in particular and won this race in 2022 with Gypsy Goddess and she has Kerrin McEvoy in the saddle who has ridden three QLD Oaks winners.
The only slight query for Philia is her barrier 16, and the question of how much work she will be doing in the run and how she will settle if she leads. If this were a 2400m race it would be more of a concern but it is still a factor which is why I haven't got her on top. But she's a professional and looks a fighter - I think she'll be hard to get past.
Roughie: SHANGRI LA IMPACT
Shangri La Impact is a full sister to the VRC Oaks placed and Melbourne Cup bound Basilinna.
I'm not really seeing the horror barrier as a major concern for this filly because no doubt this Waterhouse-Bott trained contender will go forward smartly and sit outside Philia - or perhaps lead outright, try to steal a break mid race and just keep going. The stamina reserves are there to make this a feasible race plan and the stable isn't one to shy away from such audacious tactics when they believe they've got the horse to pull it off!
Shangri La Impact comes into the Oaks at just her fifth career start and she jumps massively in class but coming off two very strong wins at 2000 and 2100m, she has given every indication that a high profile staying career lies in her future.
Shangri La Impact and her big sister are by the Japanese bred Staphanos, a son of superstar Deep Impact and an extremely classy racetrack performer, G1 placed in some of the high profile races on the planet and unlucky not to have one on the CV. The handsome bay is the highest stakes earner at stud in NZ and has made a flying start to his stud career - already a G1 sire - and has another daughter in this race in the Waller camp's fancied contender Movin Out.
Staphanos is out of a winning full sister to stakes winner Golden Hind by the noted broodmare sire Kurofune by Deputy Minister.
They were produced by Gold Tiara (Seeking The Gold), a stakes winning half sister to G1 winner and sire Poet's Voice.
Third dam of Staphanos is Bright Tiara by Chief's Crown, a multiple stakes producer from a damline of prolific black type producers. His entire pedigree is packed with the genetics to ensure that he would sire fillies in particular of the highest class - and in future we can keep a very wary eye out for Cups raiders from across the ditch bred from Staphanos mares!
A $60,000 yearling purchase by Shangri-La Consulting at the 2023 MM Gold Coast through Westbury Stud as agent, Shangri La Impact is out of G3 placed staying mare So Royal, a daughter of noted sire of Oaks fillies Shinko King.
Her second damsire Sir Tristram's fine son Kapstaad also has a habit of popping up in Oaks pedigrees. His placed daughter Queen Of The Cape foaled So Royal and three other winners, all her foals to race.
Queen Of The Cape is half sister to a champion stayer of his day Sir Silver Lad (G1 NZ Derby, Mackinnon Stakes etc) and they were foaled by Leta Filou by the French bred Le Filou, a stallion who absolutely dominated NZ staying pedigrees of his era.
Shangri La Impact jumps from barrier 19 and will be ridden by Tim Clark.
Blowout hope: SWELTERING
She's still a maiden this girl, but she tries so hard and she never runs a bad race. Her last start second in the G1 Australasian Oaks behind Benagil was super tough as she sat wide all the way and still worked resolutely to the line.
For most of her career she has raced on pace, but getting back and running on might be her go, which is good because she's got the worst barrier of the lot!
But another 200m can only help the cause of this Busuttin-Young trained filly who came out of a Terang maiden to perform so well at G1 level.
This is a pedigree that certainly isn’t outclassed by any of her Oaks rivals.
The Widden-bred Sweltering is by Dubawi's boom son Too Darn Hot out of Daring by Encosta de Lago, a winning three quarter sister to stakes winners Risk Aversion and Order Of The Sun and dam of G2/3 placed filly Pacific Dragon (Charm Spirit).
Sweltering's second dam G2 placed Liatris is by Danehill's great son and great broodmare sire Rock Of Gibraltar and a three quarter sister to topsprinter miler mare Shania Dane and Hong Kong Classic Mile winner Scintillation.
It's the family of Subterfuge by Machiavellian a half sister to Sandmason
G1 VRC Oaks and Wakeful Stakes placed Douceur ( No Nay Never) is closely related to Sweltering as are stakes winning fillies Beauty and Get To Work and a host of further black type earners.
Too Darn Hot's most scintillating nicks are with Shamardal and Street Cry due to the line of their relative Halo in his dam, which bodes well for Danehill and Machiavellian through the dam of Sweltering.
The pedigree also brings together Sadler's Wells, Fairy King and linebreeding to their favourite nick Mill Reef and especially through her ancestress Sayonara - Sweltering has ties with the Blue Hen Sunbittern to whom Too Darn Hot is bred 5f x 5f
She is also bred 5m x 5f,5m to Mr Prospector.
Sweltering was a $90,000 pickup from the Widden draft for Busuttin Racing who secured her at the 2023 Inglis Premier and then made $600,000 at MM National last week when bought by Yulong.
The rise in distance can only suit this genuine filly who will be partnered by Rachel King, and I'm thinking they will be biding their time hoping to launch late off a strong speed.
