Robbie Dolan added another memorable moment to his standout season by guiding Oughton to victory in the Listed Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) at Ipswich, delivering Gold Coast trainer Melissa Kelly a significant career highlight.

For Kelly, this marked her second black-type success following Oughton’s earlier win in the Recognition Stakes. Dolan, who won the 2024 Melbourne Cup aboard roughie Knight’s Choice, said the win held deep meaning for the boutique operation.

“It’s good for those sort of trainers. It means a lot to them. It’s their Melbourne Cup,” Dolan said.

“It’s a pretty good win for him. He has had lots of problems over the years, come back from Hong Kong.

“It didn’t go to plan in the race. I ended up down on the rail but I could see (favourite) Warnie two (lengths) in front of me and I just had my eyes set on him.

“Once I got him to the outside, albeit he wanted to lay in, he found the line well.”

After a solid lead-up effort when fifth in the Moreton Cup (1200m), Oughton was clearly ready to produce. Dolan’s post-race comments reflected his belief in the gelding’s potential.

“I had a bit of faith with this horse,” he said. “If you see my comment after I rode him last start, I said he could come to this race and be a good chance.”

Formerly trained in Sydney and Hong Kong, Oughton has thrived since joining Kelly’s stable last year. His Recognition Stakes win set the stage for a winter carnival campaign.

“We thought we’d put him away and see what he could do over the winter,” Kelly said.

“He gets a little bit cocky. He knows when he’s won. He knows when he has run a good race.

“He was a little bit soft because he’d gone a month between runs last time and just knocked up. I knew today he was going in a lot fitter.”

Oughton ($8) scored by half a length over Sha Of Gomer ($20), with Fortunate Kiss ($19) finishing third. Warnie, the $2.45 favourite, had a luckless passage and ran fifth.

In an earlier highlight, veteran galloper Flash Aah ($31) snapped a long losing streak by taking out the Listed Ipswich Cup (2150m). Trainer Troy Pascoe attributed the win to a more favourable tempo.

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