2015 Australian Oaks Nominations Feature First Seal

John Thompson’s classy Flight Stakes winning filly First Seal is the early favourite of the 120 three-year-old fillies nominated for the Australian Oaks 2015 this Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

Flight Stakes winner First Seal is early favourite for April’s 2015 Australian Oaks. Photo: Steve Hart.

Racing NSW took nominations for all eight of the Group 1 The Championship races for the season including those for the quartet of majors held at Royal Randwick on Sydney Cup Day, Saturday April 11.

One of those races is the $1 million Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m), futures betting at Ladbrokes.com.au for which is led by First Seal at a quote of around $5.

A winner of three of her six starts to date, Fastnet Rock filly First Seal won the Group 1 Flight Stakes over the Randwick mile in October before backing up a week later to run a brave second to Hampton Court in the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m).

She’s been nominated for a host of options during The Championships including also the lucrative $4 million Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and the $1 million Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) both held on the same day as the Oaks.

The shortest price being offered for her in the all-in markets though is for the Australian Oaks.

The other two best fancied fillies among the Australian Oaks nominations this year are then Set Square and Winx.

Ciaron Maher’s lightly-raced Reset filly Set Square has won three of her four starts to date and is already also a Group 1 winner.

After a Listed win at Caulfield over 2000m on October 18 she raced at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November and beat a strong field by a good one and a half-length margin to win the Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m).

She’s a proven Oaks performer then and is looking to complete the Crown Oaks – Australian Oaks double.

Sydney’s four-time premiership winning trainer Chris Waller prepares well fancied Street Cry filly Winx who, like First Seal, ran a great race in the Flight Stakes over the spring.

Boasting a strong record to date of three wins and two seconds from five starts, she won the Group 2 Furious Stakes at Randwick in September before two nice seconds at the track including when three lengths off First Seal in the Flight Stakes before being turned out for a spell.

Also in the mix is John Sargent’s locally-trained Crown Oaks runner-up Thunder Lady.

The Mastercraftsman filly travelled to Melbourne at the end of her spring preparation and had plenty of luck down south.

Firstly she won the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) on Derby Day at Flemington then just five days later she returned to the track for the Crown Oaks and finished second to fellow Australian Oaks hope Set Square.

The Kiwi contingent is also out in force for this year’s Australian Oaks following the success of Donna Logan’s Rising Romance last autumn.

The best fancied of the New Zealand fillies in 2015 include the lightly-raced Lisa Latta-trained Platinum Witness, Vavasour last seen winning a Group 2 last Saturday over 2000m, and Murray Baker’s Savabeel filly Saavoya who won back-to-back Group 2 races at Ellerslie on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Other notable Australian Oaks nominees include the Team Hawkes-trained grey Maastricht and Gai Waterhouse’s up-and-coming daughter of Zabeel Adrift.

Thinking Of You meanwhile is the most notable non-nominee from the pre-post fancies for the Oaks at Ladbrokes.com.au.

Peter Moody’s daughter of Thorn Park was as short as $8 to win but has not been nominated.

She is however entered for both the Queen Of The Turf Stakes and the $500,000 Group 2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (1200m) on Sydney Cup Day instead of the Oaks.

Australian Oaks first acceptances close on Monday March 9 followed by the final field out on Tuesday April 7.

To get behind your favourite fillies at the best prices before markets firm, visit Ladbrokes.com.au today and open your account with the country’s premier online bookie quoting the code BETBONUS to have your first deposit matched 100% up to $250 as a bonus bet!

2015 Australian Oaks Nominations

Royal Randwick Racecourse – 11/04/2015