Victorian filly Khutulun will get her chance in the Queensland Oaks with connections paying the late entry fee to put her in the Classic at Eagle Farm.
Trainer Luke Oliver confirmed on Tuesday the filly’s owners had parted with the $11,550 needed and that Ben Melham would ride the filly in the Group One race on Saturday week.
Khutulun hit the line strongly for second behind Queensland Derby-bound Sonntag in a 2000m race at Caulfield on Saturday, a performance which clinched her shot at the 2400m Oaks.
“She has come through the run really well and Ben Melham has been booked to ride her,” Oliver said.
“So it’s all systems go.”
Oliver said it was a pretty easy decision to head to the Oaks with Khutulun, winner of two of her five starts.
“She hit the line really hard on Saturday and didn’t have much luck,” he said.
“She has come through it even better than some of her other runs.
“Arabian Gold is going to be very hard to beat, but she’s got to be a bit of a query at the distance and I’m pretty confident this filly will run the trip no worries.”
Oliver said Khutulun would travel to Queensland next Wednesday on a flight on which the Robert Smerdon-trained pair of Rezoned and Every Faith are also booked.
Smerdon said they had made the latest declaration, due on Wednesday, for Rezoned and Every Faith to keep them in the Oaks.
“They both worked the reverse direction this morning without any problem so at this stage they are on track and if things keep ticking over the way they are then they will head there,” Smerdon said.
Mark Zahra would ride Rezoned with Glen Boss on Every Faith, Smerdon said.
Arabian Gold dominates betting at $2.10, further cementing her favouritism with her win in Saturday’s Doomben Roses.
