Trainer David Vandyke Source: Mitch Cameron Photography.com.au / Supplied
TRAINER David Vandyke rattled off the reasons why Arabian Gold would again stretch out to 2400m in a bid to win Saturday's Queensland Oaks over the distance.
"It's a Group 1,'' Vandyke said. "She's reaching the end of her three-year-old career and as a four-year-old she'll be up against a different level of horse.
"She'll be up against Europeans, so the difference between Saturday's 2400m and any other 2400m she runs in the rest of her career will be fairly significant.
"Her run in the VRC Oaks last spring was fair. She was beaten just over four lengths, and that performance would make her hard to beat in the Queensland Oaks.
"I think on form she'll be hard to beat (on Saturday), despite the fact she can't get a strong 2400m in my opinion.''
Arabian Gold is the even-money Oaks favourite with TAB Fixed Odds, and goes into the $400,000 feature at Eagle Farm on the back of wins in the Adrian Knox Stakes, Frank Packer Plate and a powerhouse effort in the Doomben Roses.
Vandyke said the Doomben Roses was his grey's main winter target, but she had not put a foot wrong since.
"The Roses was the race we set her for, and the Oaks was only a consideration if she won the Roses,'' said Vandyke, who will add the Queensland Derby to the filly's Brisbane hit-list if she wins on Saturday.
Arabian Gold has rumbled with some of the best fillies in the country, something most of her rivals on Saturday haven't done. That fact wasn't lost on Vandyke.
"She has raced against some of the best like Guelph, she beat Solicit in Melbourne, she raced against May's Dream, who came out and won an Australasian Oaks,'' he said.
"She's raced against some fair horses in the Adrian Knox and more so in the Frank Packer Plate. She hasn't sidestepped any of the better three-year-olds. (What beats her) will be luck in running.''
Vandyke has saddled up several horses at skinny odds in big majors, but is yet to win one. There was Constant Flight in the 1994 AJC Oaks, Lamasery in the 2012 The Metropolitan, and Prince Cheri a year later in the same race.
"I can tell you I'm sick of getting beaten in them,'' Vandyke said before he hopped in the car for the Nowra races yesterday. "I don't know what it would mean because I've never won one, but I'm certainly keen to find out.''
Arabian Gold will be a feel-good story should she win a first major for Vandyke because it will also continue the wonderful success of big-time owner Nick Moraitis — whose pink and white colours were made famous by Might And Power — and jockey Blake Shinn, who farewelled good mate Guy Walter on Thursday.
Arabian Gold will work on the Doomben course proper tomorrow morning, with Vandyke pointing out that Eagle Farm was made off-limits.
Meanwhile, Randwick trainer John Sargent said Elusive Runner, a tragedy beaten at Randwick on Saturday, will push on to Saturday week's Queensland Derby. A decision on whether jockey Jason Collett is retained will be made today.
Collett dropped the reins and admitted he feared he had cost himself the Derby ride. Sargent said he would have a better idea once he spoke with connections in Hong Kong.
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