1 - Getta Good Feeling
(So You Think x Marquise Da Rossa)
Trainer: Danny O'Brien Jockey: Mark Zahra
The odds-on favourite is by a stallion who didn't quite get 3200m of the Melbourne Cup, but did win a swag of Group 1s at around 10 furlongs and ran fourth in an Arc De Triomphe (2400m). Getta Good Feeling twice went through the sale ring, selling for $400,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale before going for $525,000 at the Easter Yearling Sale. The man who pinhooked her was Suman Hedge, who had good success with another foal out of Marquise Da Rossa, Elliptical, who placed in a Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) before being sold to Hong Kong. There is not a lot of Black Type staying form on her page, though, the standout being Geelong Classic (2200m) winner Mithrandir, who is out of a half-sister to Marquise Da Rossa's dam Make My Dane.
2 – The Pearls
(Proisir x The Pearler)
Trainer: Chris Waller Jockey: James McDonald
By Proisir, a son of former sprint star Choisir, who has proven a breeding barn sensation in New Zealand via the likes of Legarto, Levante and Prowess, but is yet to produce a Derby or Oaks winner. The Pearls, a $460,000 Magic Millions yearling, is from a Volksraad mare who won out to 2000m and is a granddaughter of a Noble Bijou mare who won out to 2200m and is closely-related to the dam of NZ Derby (2400m) and Cox Plate (2040m) winner The Phantom Chance and Melbourne Cup runner-up The Phantom.
3 – Spicy Lu
(Tagaloa x All Salsa)
Trainer: Nick Olive Jockey: Nash Rawiller
If you look at the immediate family, you wonder how the $30,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale Book 2 purchase won a G3 Ethereal Stakes at 2000m let alone be considered a chance in a VRC Oaks. By Blue Diamond winner Tagaloa, Spicy Lu is out of Charge Forward mare who didn't win beyond 1250m and is from the Machiavellian mare Ashmal, whose lone win came at 1600m. But they trace back to the Sadler's Wells mare Salsabil who won five times at the highest level, including the Irish Derby (2414m) and English Oaks (2420m).
4 – Just A Journey
(Justify x Caravan)
Trainer: Michael Freedman Jockey: Blake Shinn
A $400,000 Gold Coast yearling buy for James Bester, Just A Journey is by the US Triple Crown champion and is the sire of Epsom Derby winner City Of Troy. She is out of a Snitzel mare who also descends from an American family and is a sister to G1 Moir Stakes (1000m) winner Wild Ruler, but another half-sister, Pavitra is a daughter of American Pharoah who ran second to She's Extreme in the VRC Oaks in 2022.
5 – Ethereum Girl
(Maurice x Moonchild)
Trainer: Ben, Will and JD Hayes Jockey: Jamie Melham
The $275,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling is by a stallion who is yet to produce an Oaks winner, but is the sire of dual Derby winner Hitotsu. Charge Forward mare Moonchild never raced and is out of a Redoute's Choice mare who did not win beyond 1250m and is a three-quarter-sister to Group 2-winning sprinter Wild Rain but boasts a Caulfield Cup (2400m) winner on the page being a granddaughter of North Flower, whose half-sister is Northerly's dam North Bell.
6 – Sheeza Diva
(Pierro x Dizzy Diva)
Trainer: Mitchell and Desiree Kearney Jockey: Rachel King
She might have cost only $15,000 at Inglis Classic, but it shouldn't be any shock to see her lining up in a VRC Oaks given she shares very similar bloodlines to a past winner in Pinot. Like Pinot, she is by Pierro and is from a mare who is a granddaughter of Dizelle. An ATC Oaks (2400m) winner herself, Dizelle is the dame of Pinot. Dizlago, the daughter of Dizelle who produced Dizzy Diva, won a 3YO fillies feature of her own during spring, taking out the Ethereal Stakes (2000m) before finishing ninth in the VRC Oaks in 2010.
7 – Strictly Business
(Grunt x Tivoli Lass)
Trainer: Tom Carberry Jockey: John Allen
It would be some sort of training performance if Tom Carberry gets Strictly Business to win the Oaks at just her fourth start, five days after beating home all bar Getta Good Feeling in the Wakeful Stakes. It's no shock she is showing staying promise, though, being by O'Reilly's son Grunt out of an Uncle Mo mare whose granddam Perfumery is a daughter of Zabeel who is a half-sister to Caulfield Cup winner Affinity.
8 – After Summer
(The Autumn Sun x Al Jasrah)
Trainer: Dom Sutton Jockey: Billy Egan
Not many stallions are proving themselves a better sire of Classic fillies than Arrowfield's The Autumn Sun, who produced ATC Oaks (2400m) winner Autumn Angel, SA Derby (2500m) and Australasian Oaks (2000m) winner Vibrant Sun in his first crop. His filly out of Al Jasrah sold for $170,000 at Inglis Easter and is a half-sister to Authorized mare Calling The Wind who won out to 4146m and was placed over 4355m. Al Jasrah, who is by Shirocco, is a half-sister to Debonnaire, the dam of Hartnell, a son of Authorized who won four times at Group 1 level, including the 2400m Tancred Stakes, and was placed in the 2016 Melbourne Cup.
9 – Zouclaire
(Zousain x Dame Claire)
Trainer: Leon & Troy Corstens & Will Larkin Jockey: Ethan Brown
The $110,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling is by a sprinter out of a Danehill Dancer mare and is a three-quarter-sister to Zou Sensation, who was nabbed late in the G2 The Damien Oliver (1400m) on Saturday. There are some stout types further back, though, with Dame Claire a half-sister to the dam of Horrifying, a son of Shocking who won out to 2800m.
10 – Voting Rights
(Snitzel x Susan B Anthony)
Trainer: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Jockey: Jordan Childs
The second runner in the race for Jonathan Munz, who also races the favourite, but this one was a homebred for his GSA Bloodstock operation. Munz's bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne bought Susan B Anthony for 560,000 guineas – a tick over $1m Aussie dollars – at the 2019 December Mares Sale at Tattersall's and brought her out to Australia. By the mighty Galileo, Susan B Anthony is a sister to former champion miler Rip Van Winkle, who was champion miler in Europe in 2009 and performed at the highest level out beyond 2000m. He sired three Group 1 winners before his death in 2020, one of whom was NZ Oaks winner Jennifer Eccles. Voting Rights has seemingly called on that Galileo blood to get out to an Oaks trip with her sire Snitzel one of Australia's greatest ever stallions who has thrown many Group 1 winners, but is yet to have a Derby or Oaks winner.
11 – Morisu Ojo
(Maurice x Fill The Page)
Trainer: Ciaron Maher Jockey: Craig Williams
Ciaron Maher produced the $200,000 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale graduate's sire to win a couple of Derbys, while her dam won a Listed Canberra Cup at 2000m and is the dam of Fun Factor, who although by former US sprinter The Factor almost emulated her mother when second in the Canberra Cup and won G3 Grand Prix Stakes (2200m) in Queensland and ATC St Leger at 2600m.
12 – Classic Gem
(Maurice x Lankan Gold)
Trainer: Wendy Kelly Jockey: Ben Allen
It would be fitting if Wendy Kelly got to win a Cup Week Classic with a product of Maurice, who is the sire of 2021 Victoria Derby winner Hitotsu. It was Kelly who started with Hitotsu, before he was sold to clients of Ciaron Maher, who then took over training. Classic Gem, a $170,000 Inglis Premier yearling, is out of the Dundeel mare Lankan Gold, who never raced but is from a predominantly speed-based family including Lankan Rupee, but also features the dam of ATC Derby winner Tavago.
13 – Janey Bopper
(Finn Mccool x Jane's Angel)
Trainer: Andrew Bobbin Jockey: Harry Coffey
The $151 outsider of the field doesn't bring the best form into the race, but brings one of the more interesting bloodstock stories. By a son of Galileo who started his career in Europe and came to Australia the winner of one race, but added an Avoca Cup and Penshurst Cup to his record before being retired to stud by his owners Rohan McDonald and Dominic Kerr. Since then he's covered 71 mares for 33 live foals, six of whom have been named with four getting to the track. Victory by Janey Bopper, a three-start maiden who heads into the Oaks off a third placing in a 2000m Warrnambool highweight maiden, would be Finn Mccool's first as a stallion. Janey Bopper is the first foal from Jane's Angel, a daughter of Smart Missile who was the first starter for Janey Bopper's trainer Andrew Bobbin.
