VRC Oaks Preview and Tips 07/11/24

The Melbourne Cup may be over, but there’s still a heap of Group One races happening between now and the end of the Spring Racing Carnival. As we traditionally see on the Thursday after the Melbourne Cup, it’s Ladies Day at Flemington Racecourse. There is one Group One to sink our teeth into, the VRC Oaks.

For the 2024 VRC Oaks, we see 14 3YO fillies take the track, all fighting it out for a chance to call themselves the champion. The current market with PlayUp shows a tight race, with three runners listed at odds of $6.00 or below. Those three runners include; Treasurethe Moment, Powers Of Opal and Harlem Queen.

My tips for the VRC Oaks have just landed here at OnlyRacing. I’ve taken a deep dive into all the data, including the all-important recent form and have produced five best bets for the race on Thursday. So, who’s going to win the race? Well, we will have to wait and see to know for sure, but I’ve got some thoughts!

Killcare Beachgirl has serious barrier speed and after drawing well, she’ll likely look to dictate the race out front. So, the race tempo will be as fast as Killcare Beachgirl wants to take it. Noises also has some pretty serious barrier speed, so watch for her to scoot along from barrier 11.

This would leave a nice path for the current favourite, Treasurethe Moment, to get into a position off the rail. Two of the other more favoured runners in the market at the moment, Powers Of Opal and Harlem Queen probably won’t be too far away either, leaving the top three to fight it out stride for stride.

With the market favouring three runners in particular, I’m going with Harlem Queen, who is currently on the third line of betting with odds of $6.00 at PlayUp. She is a very talented filly and is just as talented as any of them. I’m expecting a big race from her on Thursday and hopefully, she’ll be able to get some luck this time.

We last saw her in the Group One Spring Champion Stakes where she finished an unlucky fourth. She was stuck wide with no cover and got held up at a critical time in the race. Before her run in the Spring Champion Stakes, she managed a second in the Flight Stakes. This looks like the perfect time for the filly to break through for her first Group One victory!

The current narrow $3.40 pre-race favourite with Bet365 gets my vote for the VRC Oaks safe bet. I can clearly see why she has got the favouritism at the moment, coming into this race on a three-race winning streak, including last time out when she won one of the most ideal lead-up races, the Wakeful Stakes. 

She beat Powers Of Opal in the run home in that one, the same Powers Of Opal is currently on the second line of betting. The filly has shown an excellent turn of foot and attacked the line strongly in the Wakeful Stakes, so I think the jump to 2,500m should suit her well. She is a classy horse that doesn’t necessarily need luck on her side to win.

After looking through the field, there is one runner in particular that sticks out as truly overs, in my opinion. Femminile is currently paying $21 to win the VRC Oaks at Dabble and I reckon if any of the top three in the market don’t have a good race, Femminile is competitive enough to run top three at juicy odds.

She’s been improving every run so far this prep and she heads to the VRC Oaks fourth-up. The filly wasn’t too far away from it in the Ethereal Stakes last time out, one of the ideal lead-up runs to the VRC Oaks, where she finished third. I think she does her best running when she is up against her own sex and she’s certainly in with a shot of a top-three finish.

Powers Of Opal certainly deserves to be included in my set of VRC Oaks tips and she is a dangerous runner that needs to be respected. The filly is currently on the second line of betting with QuestBet, at odds of $3.90, but it’s a tight race. She performed well last time out in the Wakeful Stakes, finishing second to Treasurethe Moment, who is the current favourite.

This was the first time we saw her in Victoria, so you would think she’d be all the fitter for that Victorian run under her belt. Improvement is certainly on the cards here and I reckon trainer John Sargent has got her looking as well as ever for the VRC Oaks. James McDoland sticks with her as well, the only query is the trip.

Taking a chance on one of the bigger roughies in the race. Killcare Beachgirl is currently going around with odds of $26 thanks to Bet Right. She has blistering barrier speed, so she’ll be looking to lead the race and keep them all behind her, winning from post to post. The filly is another to come through the Wakeful Stakes, where she finished third.

This is certainly a step up in terms of quality but I reckon she gets better conditions here. She was fading late in the Wakeful Stakes and the Ethereal Stakes the run prior, but she was leading into the wind there. Conditions at Flemington on Thursday look to suit leaders more, which is certainly going to work in her favour.

All my VRC Oaks horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Harlem Queen (win)	$6.00
	Treasurethe Moment (each-way)	$3.40/$1.70
	Femminile (place)	$5.00
	Powers Of Opal (place)	$1.62
	Killcare Beachgirl (place)	$5.75