Thomas Carberry targets second VRC Oaks triumph

The Ballarat racing community celebrated trainer Thomas Carberry after Strictly Business clinched the VRC Oaks at Flemington.

This significant win a year ago represented Carberry's most notable achievement, and the horseman from Ballarat is eager to return to the same Group 1 event, a 2500m race at Flemington scheduled for November 5.

Carberry is preparing his filly, Refuse To Curtsy, for the Oaks, and interestingly, she shares the same lineage as last year's winner.

As part of her preparation for the Oaks, Refuse To Curtsy is slated to run in the Beverly Rooftop Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield on Wednesday. The filly also has an entry in the Ethereal Stakes (2000m) this Saturday.

The weather forecast and, more crucially, the track conditions, will be the determining factors in where Refuse To Curtsy competes, as Carberry prioritizes 'sound ground' for the filly.

"We won't get to run off that handicap mark again if she was successful in the Ethereal, but that is probably getting ahead of ourselves," Carberry remarked. "She's in great form and has been working well."

Refuse To Curtsy's most recent outing saw her win a Kilmore 1600m maiden. She now faces a benchmark 70 contest on Wednesday.

Thomas Carberry has implemented a different training strategy for Refuse To Curtsy compared to the regimen followed by Strictly Business in the previous year.

Strictly Business commenced her racing career with a win in a Ballarat maiden on October 24, proceeded to the Wakeful Stakes eight days later, and then went on to claim the Oaks title.

Refuse To Curtsy was second-up when she achieved victory at Kilmore, and Carberry is planning for the filly to contest the Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 31 as a preparatory race for the Oaks.

"She's from a good staying family and she's showing all the right signs," Carberry said. "She won her maiden quite nicely and after this start, I think we'd go the way of the Wakeful."

Carberry, who often rides his own horses during trackwork, is currently sidelined due to an injury but is savouring the excitement of participating in the Melbourne Spring Carnival with Strictly Business, who is also a Melbourne Cup contender.

"A horse kicked me at the top of the femur and it's a 12-week process and I'm about four weeks into it," Carberry explained. "It absolutely fantastic to be a part of the spring and to have a couple of horses that may be a part of it, we're all enjoying the ride."

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