Kris Lees has further stamped his class on the staying features for fillies by claiming a third victory in the Queensland Oaks, with You Wahng proving too tough at Eagle Farm in a dramatic finish over 2200m.
Having previously saluted with Vitesse Dane in 2005 and Amokura in 2023, Lees added to his Group 1 tally thanks to a superb steer from jockey Tommy Berry, who made the most of barrier seven.
“Lovely ride from Tommy,” Lees said. “He was able to get us straight across from the gate and got into a lovely position in running. He had a lot of horse coming to the corner, but I was always just a little guarded that last furlong when she presented, but she was able to find under pressure.”
Sent out a $19 chance with online bookmakers, You Wahng held off a late surge from Pinito ($6), trained by James Cummings, to win by a short head. It denied Cummings another Brisbane Group 1 win in his final weeks with Godolphin.
Lees credited a gear change for the improvement in performance: “She ran really well in an ATC Oaks. I think she was very plain at Gosford when we just gave her a fresh run. We applied a tongue tie, and it’s really worked out well.”
Australasian Oaks winner Benagil ($7) again found trouble in running and was a luckless third under Mark Zahra. “She probably should have won,” Zahra lamented. “She just lacks gate speed which meant we ended up on the inside, so we had a few traffic issues before we got clear air.”
Philia ($4.40), the race favourite, finished eighth with Kerrin McEvoy reporting she was unable to muster early speed and was never in the right spot.
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