Can lightning strike twice?
Leading Queensland combination of Kevin and Kay Seymour along with Grant Dixon are chasing another feature event in Melbourne on Friday night when their classy three-year-old filly Aqua Miss lines up in the Gr.1 $150,000 Always B Miki Victoria Oaks at TABCORP Park, Melton.
If successful, it will provide partnership with a very unique double.
Back in January, Dixon steered the Seymour owned Colt Thirty One to victory in the Gr.1 $200,000 Victoria Derby and became the first Queenslander to win the blue riband classic.
Ironically, only one Queensland filly has proven successful in the Victorian Oaks – the Seymour owned Cheery Cheer scored back in 2001.
And completing the Derby/Oaks double is not uncommon, in fact, Emma Stewart and Chris Alford combined last year with Our Little General and Miss Graceland.
Aqua Miss scored impressively in her heat last week defeating Soho Burning Love and Sociable while rating a solid 1:58.2 for the 2240m.
Other heat winners were Shez All Rock (1:56.9) and Speak No Evil (1:57.5).
Shez All Rock has drawn ideally in gate three while Aqua Miss (gate 11) and Speak No Evil (gate 13) both have second-line draws.
The Mark Pitt trained and driven Shez All Rock is aiming to become the first filly since Jane Ellen (1989) to claim both the New South Wales and Victorian Oaks in the same season.
“The draw has made it very difficult coupled with the fact that Shez All Rock has drawn so well, that filly is very impressive and deserves plenty of respect so we’ll need plenty of luck.” Dixon said.
Shez All Rock is quoted at $1.45 while Aqua Miss is currently at $11.
Aqua Miss was very unlucky in a heat of the New South Wales Oaks back in February and missed qualifying for the rich final but luck was on her side last week.
The Bettors Delight filly enjoyed a nice trail on the pegs from her inside gate before Dixon weaved a winning passage over the concluding stages.
“It was a good effort last week, she keeps improving all the time and there should be plenty of improvement still to come.
“We’ll be driving for luck from the draw and we just want a genuine speed throughout, if we get some luck, we should be thereabouts.”
Meanwhile, the Seymour/Dixon partnership is starting Miss Moneybags in the Gr.1 $328,000 Australian Pacing Gold 2yo Fillies Final at TABCORP Park, Menangle.
The Mach Three filly has won 4 of her 5 starts to date.
Unfortunately, Miss Moneybags must overcome gate 12 – the extreme outside draw in the 1609 feature.
Miss Moneybags is quoted at $17.
Victorian filly Soho Nolita is listed as the favourite at $3.40.
**Prices from UBET
Chris Barsby | RQ Web News | April 26 | Photo by Dan Costello