The Dogs - Fancy Females Chase Richmond Oaks

Fancy Females Chase Richmond Oaks

Written by: Gerard Guthrie 27/05/10
The finest female sprinting talent in NSW will be in action at Richmond on Friday night, with three heats of the $15,000-to-the-winner Bess Electrical Oaks to be run and won.

The opening heat shapes as the best – on paper at least – with the locally trained star Fancy Mandy (box three) to do battle with Group One National Futurity heroine Daydream (box four - pictured).

Fancy Mandy, which started favourite in the Macro Meats Golden Easter Egg final in April, relishes performing on her home track, with her four starts at Richmond reaping three victories, while she fell on the other occasion.

The Frank and Tracey Hurst-trained excitement machine has posted brilliant time in each of those three wins, with her best effort a near-record 30.21s three starts back, and on her own ‘dung hill’ she deserves to be rated the bitch to beat in the Oaks.

While Fancy Mandy is well acquainted with Richmond, that’s not the case with Daydream, which will be making her first appearance at the Londonderry venue on Friday night.

Daydream was an impressive winner of the National Futurity at The Gardens in February and she comes into the Oaks series off a last start third to another star female, Victorian ace Cindeen Shelby, in the Ladies Bracelet at Wentworth Park.

The classy Little Sparkle, a litter sister to Goodesy and Pulp, shapes as a leading contender in the second Oaks run-off.

Little Sparkle (box eight) is proven in elite company, having run second to her brother Goodesy in the Bulli Gold Plate and also finished runner-up in the Queensland Futurity, and she boasts a flying 30.31s personal best at Richmond.

The third and final heat of the Oaks will feature the hugely talented but injury plagued Irreplaceable (box three), last start 30.00s Wentworth Park winner Odessa Shiraz (box five) and last year’s Oaks winner Kelmatt’s Melody (box seven).

Irreplaceable, whose career has been regularly interrupted by injury since she won the South Australian Oaks back in 2008, is the query runner as she hasn’t started since February 27, but she has class on her side as her resume of 17 wins from 29 starts clearly attests, including an imposing five from six record at Richmond.

The Richmond Oaks Final will be held at next Saturday’s (June 5) twilight meeting.