MORNINGTON trainer Pat Carey had the greatest thrill of his training career when Arapaho Miss gave him his first Group I win in the $1 million VRC Oaks at Flemington.
Carey started training in 1989 after a long apprenticeship with Melbourne Cup-winning trainer John Meagher before he moved to Singapore where he is one of the leading trainers.
“John had two horses when I started with him. I learned a lot during that time and he deserves a lot of credit,” Carey said.
Carey married Meagher’s sister Cheryl who is involved in the training business.
“This is a great race to win. It’s a family business and living in Melbourne it’s pretty special,” Carey said.
“She’s a power filly and she stayed the 2500 metres and it was a great ride.”
Carey had two runners in the Oaks, the other being Royale Harmony, a daughter of Choisir who ran fourth in the Wakeful Stakes last Saturday and was fourth at Flemington.
His previous best winners were Thong Classic in the 2002 Moonee Valley Cup and Utility in the 2006 Eclipse Stakes.
Arapahos Miss, a $22,500 purchase at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, is by Danehill Dancer while her dam, Exit To Nowhere mare Happy Heart, won up to 2000m in France and was stakes placed at 2600m.
The filly was bred by Tony Santic’s Emily Krstina (Australia) Pty Ltd and was one of the picks of his yearlings, but he sold her despite expecting her to make far more money.
Having only her seventh start, Arapahos Miss had impressed jockey Corey Brown who won a 1700m Geelong maiden on her before she got back and finished strongly for second over 2000m at Caulfield, both last month.
Sent out at $7, Arapahos Miss scored by two lengths from Thousand Guineas winner Serious Speed ($6) with maiden Marjorie ($41) running on for third, four lengths back.
“It was tough missing out on a Melbourne Cup ride (with Maybe Better a late scratching), but this makes up for it,” said Brown who took up the post as Lee Freedman’s stable rider at Rye last December.
He has won two Group I races this spring, the other being Devil Moon in the Turnbull Stakes.
“In transit I had a perfect run, they went quite hard going to the first turn and then they backed off the tempo,” Brown said.
“Coming to the 600 metres all I wanted was a little bit of luck to get through. I ended up diving back to the inside because I couldn’t get out wide, and she was going away at the finish.
“To Pat Carey’s credit he’s done a great job with her and it’s onwards and upwards for her.
“She only won an ordinary race at Geelong, but she should have won at Caulfield but the tempo cost her.”
Trainer Leon Macdonald praised Danny Nikolic’s ride on runner-up Serious Speed.
“It was the best ride you’ve ever seen. She proved she could run the distance as the winner and her have gapped the others,” he said.
Bart Cummings, who was trying to land his ninth Oaks, said it was nice to run third with a maiden.
“She’ll be a good filly next year. She doesn’t turn three until December,” Cummings said.
AAP
Source: Arapaho Miss wins VRC Oaks
