Racing: Rocky passage for filly in Oaks

Rock Diva. Photo / Trish Dunell

By his own admission Tye Angland learned many things during his extended period riding against the world's best in Hong Kong.

Apparently saving ground by shaving a racetrack corner wasn't one of them.

Only Angland himself will know why he allowed Cambridge filly Rock Diva to drift out to the middle of the Eagle Farm track on the home bend in Saturday's A$400,000 Queensland Oaks.

At that point, Rock Diva was last in a big field and her chances looked to be 100 to 1. After appearing to lose close to two lengths on the bend she became 1000 to 1.

To flash home into fourth, three lengths from the winner, Tinto, from that impossible position was as good as a winning run.

"If she'd drawn an [decent] alley she'd have won the race," said a frustrated trainer Tony Pike.

Angland had little option but to drop Rock Diva to the back of the field from an outside gate. From there the filly's task was always going to be difficult, but Angland offered her little help on the bend.

Rock Diva finished only one length from third, missing that spot as a group one Australian placing costing the owners breeding residuals of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Tye Angland is an extremely accomplished horseman. The Oaks was not one of his better rides.

Tony Pike will wait until Wednesday to decide whether Rock Diva will back up in Saturday's A$500,000 Queensland Derby, but yesterday indications were that the filly will run.

"They're only three once and she can have a good long spell when she gets home and come back for the Cups' races in the summer and autumn."

Pike also had little luck with his second Oaks runner Sancerre who dropped out late in the race.

"She got knocked over early in the race, panicked, over raced and pulled herself into the ground.

"She can go home now because she's done a good job to get there on a pretty tight preparation."

The bright spot of Pike's day was 40 minutes after the Oaks when Sacred Star narrowly won the A$175,000 QTC Cup.

With Timothy Bell backing up after his Oaks win on Tinto, Sacred Star took the front close to home and held well to win by a neck.

"He almost got there too soon because he has a habit of pulling up once he's in front," said Pike.

The win earned Sacred Star a place in the A$1.4 million Stradbroke.

Bell had the choice of other Stradbroke rides, but confirmed with Pike yesterday morning he will stay with the New Zealander.

Sacred Star last raced when an unlucky second to Viadana in the NRM Sprint at Te Rapa in February. He started the $5.50 joint favourite on Saturday as a result of an excellent trial performance in Queensland.He beat Masthead by a neck with a short head back to Bennetta in the 1300m sprint.

Equal favourite Hot Snitzel beat only four runners home.