Australasian Oaks History, Results, Past Winners and Odds – 2014 Edition

The Australasian Oaks, or Schweppes Oaks, is a Group 1 horse race held each year at Morphetville Racecourse in Adelaide.  Run over 2000 metres and worth $400,000 in prizemoney, this event has become an important part of the Adelaide autumn racing carnival.  The Australasian Oaks has been run since 1982, making it a relatively new inclusion on the Australian racing calendar.

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While the Australasian Oaks has not been around very long, it has definitely made its mark on the Australian thoroughbred racing scene.  It joins the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes each year during April, with these two events spearheading the Adelaide autumn racing carnival.  The Australasian Oaks has also been known as the Schweppes Oaks since 2006.

Last years Australasian Oaks winner Maybe Discreet
Last years Australasian Oaks winner Maybe Discreet

Originally a Grade 3 race, this event graduated to Group 1 status in 1983.  The Australasian Oaks has also changed race distance a few time over the years, originally a 2000 metre race but also run over a range of distances including 2014 metres, 2020 metres, 2025 metres, 2031 metres, and more.  The Australasian Oaks has been won by some notable names over the years, including Rose Of Kingston in the inaugural event.

In recent years, Australasian Oaks winners include Anamato in 2007, Zarita in 2008, Gallica in 2009, Small Minds in 2010, Lights Of Heaven in 2011, Invest in 2012, and Maybe Discreet in 2013.  With a field typically made up of handy local fillies, the Australasian Oaks does also attract interstate visitors in search of Group 1 success.

The 2007 winner Anamato holds the race record time for the Australasian Oaks, with the champion crossing the finishing line in 2:02.20.  Bart Cummings and Lee Freeman hold the record for the most wins by a trainer, with Cummings experiencing victory in 1983, 1989, 1993, and 1994, and Freeman in 1986, 1991, 1992, and 2000.

In the news:

Trainer Shane Nichols will use an off-season race at Sandown on Saturday to gauge the spring carnival credentials of juvenile I Am The General.

The city winner resumes at Sandown having been spelled after he finished worse than midfield in the $2 million Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast in January.

Nichols said the interstate trip ruled out the chances of I Am The General campaigning during the Melbourne carnival earlier this year.

The colt will instead be giving a light, late autumn preparation with a view to targeting bigger spoils in the spring.

“Realistically if we can win a Saturday race with him I’d be more than happy to turn him out and just give him a crack at some good three-year-old sprints,” Nichols said.

“There’s a lot of money for the three-year-olds in the spring in Melbourne.”

I Am The General was a Flemington winner at his second start in December, beating subsequent Group Three placegetter Chivalry to confirm plans to run in the Magic Millions in which he finished 11th.

“One of the issues when you go to the Gold Coast is it’s a fairly arduous trip on them,” Nichols said.

“I didn’t feel he could be up and at his best in the autumn for the lead-ups to the Blue Diamond so we gave him his time because the trip did knock him around a bit.”

Topweight with 59kg for Saturday’s Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (1000m), I Am The General’s opposition includes the Patrick Payne-trained Husson Eagle who has solid form around Golden Slipper placegetter Bring Me The Maid.

Husson Eagle opened at $6 with TAB fixed odds but has firmed to $3.50 favourite while I Am The General is on the fourth line of betting at $7.50 after opening at $9.

Nichols said I Am The General had trialled nicely in preparation for his return.

“I think he’s going fairly well,” Nichols said.

“He’ll improve on whatever he does on Saturday and I think he’s a little vulnerable with 59 (kilograms).

“If he did happen to win, he’s probably going to slot fairly well into some of those better (sprint) races for spring three-year-olds.”

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