Trainer Dominic Sutton is daring to dream of the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) after After Summer led from start to finish in the Crown Oaks Preview (1800m) at Flemington on Sunday.
Sent out as a $14 chance in the small five-horse field, jockey Billy Egan dictated terms from the outset aboard the filly by The Autumn Sun and quickened away off the slow tempo to score by 1-1/2 lengths over Seychelles ($4.20), with Classic Gem ($5.50) a further half head back in third.
Sutton, who captured last year’s Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) with Feroce, was thrilled with the victory but acknowledged the race played out more like a trial than a genuine staying test. “They were going to crawl and she was up on the bridle, so he did the right thing in letting her stride a little bit,” he said. “She got a very soft time in front and when he asked for it at the top of the straight, she never looked like getting beaten.”
The trainer stressed the Oaks remains a long-term ambition. “We’re still a long way out so we’ll just assess how she comes through today. I’d say it’d be more like having a trial than having a race with the speeds that they went, so she doesn’t look like she’s had a tough run. We’ll get her home and plot a path, and if she takes us there, then great. If not, we’ll put her away and save it for autumn.”
Egan admitted the front-running role wasn’t by design. “We didn’t think she quite had the race smarts quite yet to lead and be the bunny for something else,” he said. “She jumped and landed there, and she’s obviously taken a lot from her first two starts and she was too good in the end. I was getting a little worried, maybe I’ve gone too slow; she might not sprint as good, but she showed a really nice turn of foot at the end.”
Sutton revealed After Summer was specifically purchased with the Oaks in mind, noting the influence of her sire. “She’s one that we identified and obviously The Autumn Sun’s are doing a terrific job, especially the fillies. This was always the plan to have an Oaks filly and that’s what we identified her as, so it’d be nice if we can pull that one off.”
