Oakleigh Girl ready to tackle Rubiton Stakes

Former smart two year old Oakleigh Girl is ready to take on the older horses in the Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Rubiton Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Oakleigh Girl will be taking on the older sprinters in the Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Daniel Costello.

Oakleigh Girl will be taking on the older sprinters in the Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Daniel Costello.

Oakleigh Girl will be having her first run for almost ten months but trainer Danny Bougoure is confident the Snitzel filly has done enough work to be mixing it with a top class field of sprinters.

“She has done a fair bit of work and she is ready to go Saturday,” Bougoure told Racing Ahead.

“She had a jump out Tuesday before last, so it will about twelve days by the time we get to the race and she had a jump out prior to picking up the stone bruise.”

Oakleigh Girl has had a slightly interrupted preparation and Bougoure had to end any chance of getting her ready for the Magic Millions Carnival on the Gold Coast in January after she picked a stone bruise in her hind foot.

“We had planned to give her a long layoff after Sydney anyway and she was back getting geared up for the Magic Millions Sprint and she bruised in a near hind hoof and we just pulled the pin on that and concentrated on Melbourne.”

Oakleigh Girl was beaten just over three lengths when sixth to Mossfun in the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill during the 2014 Sydney Autumn Carnival and Bougoure said the heavy on the day took its toll on the filly.

“First up into the Golden Slipper on a wet track really gutted her. She hadn’t had a lead up run and it really knocked her around,” Bougoure said.

Then after running fifth in the Group 3 $500,000 Girvan Waugh Royal Randwick Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 19 Bougoure was content to give her a lengthy break.

And the Eagle Farm trainer said that she has developed greatly during her time out and hinted that race goers will see a much stronger and thicker filly at the races on Saturday.

“She has done very well. She had quite a time away from racing, probably nine months away now,  she has matured and furnished into a lovely filly so hopefully a forward showing on Saturday,” Bougoure said.

“She has grown a bit in height and has thickened up a little bit in front and behind. So you will probably see not the little baby she was when she was here just over twelve months ago.”

Bougoure was hoping to draw a reasonable barrier but was given the visitor’s draw and jump from gate nine in the ten horse field with top Melbourne jockey Glen Boss to ride.

A good performance in the Rubiton Stakes on Saturday will see Oakleigh Girl line up in the Group 1 $400,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield a fortnight later.

Oakleigh Girl has been marked at the healthy odds of $17 for the Rubiton Stakes with Ladbrokes.com.au while the Team Hawkes trained Chautauqua is a dominant favourite at $1.60.

Sydney mare Atmospherical is next in the betting at $7 alongside of Peter Morgan and Craig Widdison’s speedy filly Eloping.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.