Leading racing expert Daniel O’Sullivan has Winx on top of his 2015 Australian Oaks tips and he believes that the talented filly is clearly the horse to beat in the Group 1 event at Royal Randwick this afternoon.
Daniel O’Sullivan rates Winx the horse to beat in the 2015 Australian Oaks. Photo by: Steve Hart
Winx returned to winning form when she took out the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 14 in impressive fashion and she had very little luck in running when she finished fifth behind Fenway in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 28.
O’Sullivan told RSN that Winx would have beaten the likes of Ballet Suite and Thunder Lady if she had received a clear run in the Vinery Stud Stakes and she expects the Street Cry filly to prove too strong for her rivals in the Australian Oaks.
“I really like Winx here,” O’Sullivan said.
“She went into that Vinery as clearly the best of the horses coming into the Oaks here and her run in the race was very, very good.
“She just kept drifting back in what was a really slow run race and she was given no chance at all to win.
“As she started to track up she went for a run between Ballet Suite and Thunder Lady and there was just no room.
“In the end she got a bit tight and it wasn’t until the 200 where she was able to come across those horses and get balanced up again and she spent 150 metres really doing nothing.
“The way that she finished off and hit the line suggested to me that with a better run, a better trip and better luck she would have beaten those horses home in the Vinery.
“Coming to this race here she looks as though she is going to be a couple of lengths ahead of them in the run and it is very hard to see how those two horses (Ballet Suite and Thunder Lady) are going to beat her home.
“I think she represents pretty good value here.”
Thunder Lady and Ballet Suite both hit the line strongly in the Vinery Stud Stakes and O’Sullivan believes that the genuine stayers cannot be ruled out of Australian Oaks calculations, but he is concerned about how far back the duo will get in the early stages of the race.
“I think that Ballet Suite and Thunder Lady were both good runs in the Vinery and they present here as certainly the staying prospects.
“From that draw they both look like they are going to get well back in the field and as I said spotting that start to Winx is a bit of a disadvantage, but they certainly have chances.”
Winx is currently available at 2015 Australian Oaks odds of $3.40 and is a narrow favourite from Thunder Lady ($5.50), Ballet Suite ($5.50) and Savaria ($5.50).
