We recently stated that few stallions have done more to advance their cause in recent months than Waikato Stud’s Ocean Park and his four-year-old daughter Oceanex didn’t let us down when she proved too good in the $300,000 Group II Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.
Ridden by Jye McNeil for Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr, Oceanex enjoyed a cosy run three pairs back on the fence, found clear running at the 300 metres and was strong to the line in defeating Miss Siska (So You Think) by half a length with a short-half-head back to Ryan Moore on the 100/1 outsider Aristocratic Miss (Foxwedge).
With her first stakes win, Oceanex advances her record to 4 wins, 4 seconds and 3 thirds from 13 starts with earnings of $411,270.
Part owner Luke Wilkinson, who used to work for Mick Price said Oceanex was a hard sell.
"The horse was giving me grief for a month and Mick Price and Michael Kent had kept the faith. I didn’t even go to Moonee Valley last start because I was so upset with a couple of rides leading in to it,” Wilkinson said.
“She’s got a fantastic pedigree. Her mom was stakes-placed and her brother was a Group III winner so it’s a big family and I would love to breed from her one day. I might have to save some pennies and buy some other owners out.
“This was one of the hardest horses to sell. She sat on the website for six months when I worked for Mick (Price). She was only $70,000 but Ocean Park was dawdling a bit but with got a wonderful filly worth a lot of money.” 
Purchased by Mick Price Racing for $70,000 out of the 2017 NZB 2017 Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka, Oceanex is one of eight winners out of the stakes-placed Danasinga mare Danex, which include the Group III BRC Rough Habit Plate winner Amexed (Pentire) and the stakes-placegetters Marcellina (Savabeel) and Digital Fortress (Savabeel) as well as the 5-time winner Danahere (Dehere) the dam of stakes-winner Saint Patricks Day (Excelebration).
Danex has a 2yo filly by Per Incanto (USA) and a colt foal by Pierro.
Oceanex becomes the fifth stakes winner for Ocean Park who is riding high on the sires table with Group 1 winner Kolding and dual Group III winner Tofane leading the charge.
