The decision to bypass the Adelaide carnival and focus on Brisbane with Fireball Miss has reaped the ultimate reward with the filly scoring a brilliant Group One win in the Queensland Oaks at Eagle Farm.
The three-year-old was explosive, rounding up the leaders and bounding clear to score by 1-1/4 lengths over Panova ($4 fav) with the winner’s Ciaron Maher-trained stablemate Paltrow Miss ($13) third.
In doing so, Fireball Miss became the fourth horse in the past 25 years to claim The Roses–Queensland Oaks double after Ethereal (2001), Scarlett Lady (2011) and Youngstar (2018), Maher crediting the result with their decision to bring her north early after she finished out of the placings in the Kembla Grange Classic (1600m) in March.
“This filly has just thrived up here in Brisbane and at Eagle Farm,” Maher said.
“You see it year in, year out if you target this time of year with a filly like that.
“We had the option to go to Adelaide and we thought, no, we’ll put her on ice and just target up here, and you can see how well she looks. She has absolutely thrived.”
“I think she is a filly for the future.”
Fireball Miss ($8.50) was partnered by Declan Bates, who has enjoyed a tremendous association with the Maher stable, particularly through the feats of star mare Pride Of Jenni who he has ridden to eight wins.
From an awkward draw, Fireball Miss was only fair out of the gates and Bates admitted to some concerns mid-race when she didn’t relax as well as he’d hoped.
“She didn’t even settle as well as I would have liked, which for her, is unusual,” Bates said.
“She was always in my hands a bit too much, which I was worried about over this trip, but when I peeled out she built through her gears and put the race away halfway down the straight. A fantastic performance.”
It was Maher’s second win in the classic after claiming it with Socks Nation two years ago, and a first Queensland Oaks (2200m) victory for Bates, Fireball Miss giving the Victorian-based hoop a black-type double on the day after his success aboard the Nick Olive-trained Voynichese in the Listed The Show A Heart (1500m).
