Trainer John Sargent is confident his ex-Kiwi filly Kirramosa will live up to his classic expectations at Flemington over the next 10 days.
Sargent has Kirramosa set to tackle the traditional Wakeful Stakes-VRC Oaks double at the Flemington carnival, races that are wide open due to a spring devoid of a standout filly now that Guelph has been spelled.
Kirramosa will take on most of the leading Oaks contenders in Saturday's Wakeful Stakes (2000m) here he is confident the Alamosa filly will relish the step up in distance on the big Flemington track.
A winner from two starts in New Zealand a 2YO last season, Kirramosa has been in Sargent's Sydney stable since August and won second time out in Australia at Newcastle.
She was then fourth in the Listed Reginald Allen (1400m) at Rosehill before convincing Sargent she was worthy of a shot at the Oaks with her last start second against the colts at Randwick when she went down by nose over 1600m when she wore blinkers for the first time.
“She's going super. She's very laid back and relaxed and I have no doubt she can run the trip,” Sargent said.
The fllly gets a new rider with Tommy Berry taking over from the suspended Jason Collett who will be back in time for the Oaks ride.
The Wakeful contains most of the likely suspects for the Oaks including May's Dream, Arabian Gold, Gypsy Diamond, Wordplay and Star Fashion.
However it is missing the exciting Guy Walter-trained filly Zanbagh, who is going straight to the Oaks after two big wins at Ballarat at her last two starts.
She will have a new rider in the Oaks with Walter's stable jockey Blake Shinn booked to replace Steven Arnold.
