 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1988
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Julie Vance finishes strongly to win the Oaks |
History repeated itself when the sturdy Vance Hanover three-year-old Julie Vance outclassed the country's best fillies in the $45,000 Nevele R Stud NZ Oaks. Julie Vance followed the path of 1986 winner Free's Best almost exactly.
Like Julie Vance, Free's Best had virtually no lead up form, and her connections opted for a mobile trial just two days before the big event. Free's Best won the trial, and also went the last mile of the workout only fractions away from Julie Vance's 2:01.6 which she recorded in winning the C1 & Faster mobile pace at Addington last Wednesday. So with that little bit of history on her side, together with up-to-the-minute care and attention from driver Mark Purdon and her host Jim Dalgety, Julie Vance paraded before the event as fit as she'd ever been. "She's a great staying filly," said Purdon after she stopped the clock in a brilliant 3:16.84 and left the likes of Debbie's Chance, Scapa Chip and Regal Guest struggling in her wake.
The win was even more special for Purdon because it was his first at Addington; two thirds and two fourths in the recent drivers' series and Julie Vance's ninth in the DB Fillies Final being his only other drives.
Purdon said the filly, which had been troubled by a niggling back complaint for most of the season, really thrived during her stay at Jim Dalgety's property. "She's been sore off and on for a long time. She's never really been 100% fit," he said. "Jim's been great though. We've had her work with a galloping pacemaker because Miss Ardmore hasn't been quite right, and Jim's been really good with her. He had everything we needed. A lot of people were saying the trial on Wednesday would have taken the edge off her, but it just topped her off nicely. For her to go 3:19 (mobile 2600) in the trial and then come out and do 3:16 in the Oaks was terrific," he said.
Julie Vance's Oaks win was her second major fillies title in as many seasons. She defeated the best two-year-olds around in the Caduceus Club Classic series last term.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HR Weekly