Trainer Matt Laurie Treasures VRC Oaks Moment

Trainer Matt Laurie admitted to being quite nervous ahead of the Crown Oaks, but in the end it was a painless watch as his filly Treasurethe Moment triumphed at Flemington.

Just as she did in the traditional Oaks lead-up in the Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington last Saturday, Treasurethe Moment scored a comprehensive win in Thursday’s Group 1 classic at 2500m for three-year-old fillies.

Treasurethe Moment provided Laurie his third Group 1 win, but potentially his most important, as the filly is owned by Yu Long Investments who are becoming one of the biggest owners, and breeders, in Australia.

“It’s incredible,” Laurie said.

“It is 20 years of work really trying to achieve something like this. I’m just so grateful to my team at home and to Team Yulong.

“They are great for the industry and to have them in my corner with this, a home–bred, and to watch her progress to win a Group 1, is incredible.

“I feel very privileged.”

Sent out the $3.10 betting site favourite under Damian Lane, Treasurethe Moment raced to a 1-¼ length win from Powers Of Opal ($3.70) with Hurry Curry ($21) a further 1-½ lengths away third.

Laurie said it was only after Treasurethe Moment scored in the Wakeful Stakes last Saturday that he felt he had an Oaks winner on his hands.

He felt the 2000m of the Wakeful would be no problem, and the way the filly handled that trip the extra 500m on Thursday would be no concern.

“I thought her win at Sandown three back was very tough and I didn’t have too many questions about her reaching 2000 metres,” Laurie said.

“She answered that pretty heavily over the weekend and we were hoping that she would be able to slot in and Damian managed that perfectly.

“I was starting to get very hot and nervous before the race, but it was a painless watch really.

“It was almost a replica of the weekend, just an extra 500 metres tacked on at the end.”

Lane described Treasurethe Moment as a ‘bloody ripper’ saying she can go on to better things.

The jockey completed the same double on Aristia in 2018.

“She actually gave me a very similar feel to Aristia on Saturday, but hopefully she can go on with it a little more,” Lane said.

“She is a beauty and has just kept improving this preparation.

“Matt said to me before I rode her last start, he thought that she was a really good horse in the making, and she has proved them right.

“She is a bloody ripper.”