Fireball Miss on target for Queensland Oaks

By Ray Thomas 

Champion trainer Ciaron Maher declared Fireball Miss on target for the Queensland Oaks after her impressive win in the Group 2 $300,000 The Roses at Doomben on Saturday.

"Fireball Miss has thrived since coming up here to Queensland,'' Maher said.

"She stays at Tony Gollan's yard and I can't thank him and his team enough. 

"It's fantastic, she's in really good order and  improved every run. She'll go on to the Oaks now and she'll be a very good chance."

Fireball Miss, ridden by Declan Bates, accelerated impressively to score by a long neck from the fast finishing favourite Chispa with Grand Omaha a close third.

Bates said Fireball Miss began a lot cleaner today and was able to take up a forward position.

"I was happy just to roll up and probably wasn't going to be that close,'' Bates said.

"But the way it ended up being run, it was probably ideal really because it was a bit of a muddling-run old race, and I was well positioned.

"When the three-wide line came around me I thought it could end up tricky, but there were a lot of runs coming and that injected the pace into it early enough.

"I was reluctant to go too early, and I sort of thought, well I'll just stay here, and you know if it doesn't work hopefully I'll be forgiven – but it did work out."

Fireball Miss now has the opportunity to become only the fourth filly to complete The Rose-Queensland Oaks double after Youngtsar (2018), Scarlett Lady (2011) and Ethereal (2001).

The connections of Chispa will be looking forward to a rematch in the Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm in two weeks after their filly went wide on the turn and was momentarily held up for a run before finishing strongly.