Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman continued their ace The Championships’ form with class filly Autumn Angel on the quick back-up able to defeat last year’s VRC Oaks champ Zardozi in the 2024 Australian Oaks results at Randwick.
2024 Australian Oaks winner Autumn Angel was excellent on the quick back-up to win the 2400m Group 1 at Randwick. Photo: Steve Hart.
Coleman broke her Group 1 duck last weekend with Chain Of Lightning’s upset TJ Smith triumph.
She returned seven days later to win another in partnership with now 59-time Group 1 winning horseman Moody in the Group 1 $1 million Australian Oaks (2400m).
“She’ll think this is bloody easy, won’t she!” Moody joked.
Autumn Angel was brave last Saturday carting a hefty 61kg to run second and give eight kilos to the winner Good Banter here in the Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) run on a Heavy (9).
Today she got down five kilos and went up to the mile and a half on a Good (4) Randwick track in the Oaks with jockey Mark Zahra giving her a perfectly-timed ride to return to winning form.
“The way she has thrived this week coming off the back-up, I was really taken back that so much so when Mark (Zahra) got on her I was worried that I might not have done enough with her this week, but she has thrived all week and a big special thanks to my team at home,” Moody said.
It was her second win in three starts after a narrow Flemington success in early March’s Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1600m).
The classy The Autumn Sun chestnut handed both Moody and Zhara their maiden ATC Oaks victory after she stormed home late up the centre of the track to claim the day’s first elite level.
On the line, Autumn Angel ($6) held a narrow margin over the brave James Cummings-trained Kingman filly Zardozi ($6) who charged through the field from second last to finish runner-up off her close third in the Vinery last time out.
NZ Derby winning filly Orchestral ($1.65F), winner of the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) on March 30, was shooting for her sixth win on the trot.
She, like Autumn Angel and Zardozi, was slow away before settling around midfield and was strong late but could only manage to round out the Australian Oaks trifecta in third as the beaten odds-on favourite.
Winning hoop Zahra was full of post-race praise for Autumn Angel who he believes could be a genuine contender in events including the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) in the winter and the spring’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).
“I’ve never heard Moods so upbeat about a horse,” he said.
“Races like the Queensland Oaks and Caulfield Cup would definitely be on the radar for her, I would have thought.”
2024 Australian Oaks Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | AUTUMN ANGEL | Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman | Mark Zahra | 8 | 56kg | $6 | |||
| 2 | 3 | ZARDOZI | James Cummings | Tom Marquand | 0.84L | 9 | 56kg | $6 | ||
| 3 | 1 | ORCHESTRAL (NZ) | Roger James & Robert Wellwood | James McDonald | 1L | 3 | 56kg | $1.65F | ||
| 4 | 2 | QUINTESSA (NZ) | Mark Walker | Opie Bosson | 2.75L | 2 | 56kg | $12 | ||
| 5 | 4 | TUTTA LA VITA | Chris Waller | Nash Rawiller | 3.38L | 7 | 56kg | $12 | ||
| 6 | 6 | BASILINNA (NZ) | Emma-Lee & David Browne | Blake Shinn | 5.76L | 6 | 56kg | $26 | ||
| 7 | 10 | BUSH GIRL | Kerry Parker | Jay Ford | 5.91L | 5 | 56kg | $201 | ||
| 8 | 7 | DANCES WITH HOOVES | Cameron Crockett | Craig Williams | 7.02L | 4 | 56kg | $91 | ||
| 9 | 8 | PIPLUP | Brad Widdup | Damian Lane | 8.97L | 10 | 56kg | $151 | ||
| 10 | 9 | TRUE FAIRY | Daiki Chujo | Noriyuki Masuda | 9.19L | 1 | 56kg | $201 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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