In a big win for South Australia the Shane & Cassie Oxlade-trained Queman showed true grit to hold on in a dogfight and salute in the 2024 Oakleigh Plate results on Blue Diamond Stakes Day.
2024 Oakleigh Plate winner Queman held on in a thriller to claim Group 1 glory at Caulfield. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
The Mint Lane gelding had to dig deep rising notably in grade to hold off the brave front runner Hypothetical and salute in the Group 1 $750,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield.
The in-form five-year-old continued his nice affinity for the Melbourne track backing up off his listed W.J. Adams victory over 1000m at the same course on Australia Day to make it two-from-two at Caulfield.
It was an emotional victory for jockey Harry Coffey who had worked hard to get down to the 52kg lightweight to secure his second Group 1 winning ride following his 2018 Australasian Oaks success aboard Sopressa.
“I’ve won a Group 1, so I’ve had that feeling before, but I wanted to do it again so it wasn’t a fluke, so hopefully they flow on a bit now,” he said.
The horses down in the weights dominated this year’s upset Oakleigh Plate trifecta with Queman ($17) defeating the Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained front runner Hypothetical ($11) by a nostril flare on the line while fellow 52kg lightweight Mornington Glory ($41) finished 1.5 lengths back third at a big price.
Co-trainer Shane Oxlade declared Blue Diamond Day a day for the battlers, the horseman thrilled to see the often tough-to-train Queman show his class with the stable’s first Group 1 victory.
“Whether it’s Cassie or my other daughter Tamara, my wife, the whole family, we’re just battlers. We love racing, it’s been in our family all my life, it’s all I’ve done,” he told Racing.com.
“I’ve had some nice horses but to get one to come here on Oakleigh Plate day and pull it off, it’s pretty special.
“You get out of bed every day to train a good horse and to win a group race or a Group 1 is just the pinnacle of anything in our sport, isn’t it?”
2024 Oakleigh Plate Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | QUEMAN | Shane & Cassie Oxlade | Harry Coffey | 2 | 52kg | $17 | |||
| 2 | 10 | HYPOTHETICAL | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Michael Dee | 0.1L | 9 | 52kg | $11 | ||
| 3 | 12 | MORNINGTON GLORY | Gavin Bedggood | Dean Yendall | 1.6L | 7 | 52kg | $41 | ||
| 4 | 8 | BENEDETTA | Jason Warren | Daniel Stackhouse | 1.8L | 5 | 53kg | $7.50 | ||
| 5 | 9 | BRUDENELL | Kris Lees | Daniel Moor | 1.9L | 6 | 52kg | $21 | ||
| 6 | 7 | RECOMMENDATION | Ciaron Maher | Declan Bates | 2.1L | 4 | 53.5kg | $17 | ||
| 7 | 4 | SGHIRRIPA | Shane & Cassie Oxlade | Craig Newitt | 2.2L | 13 | 55kg | $7.50 | ||
| 8 | 15 | KING’S GAMBIT | Peter & Paul Snowden | Ms Jamie Kah | 2.3L | 1 | 50kg | $4.20F | ||
| 9 | 14 | REY MAGNERIO | Robbie Griffiths & Mathew de Kock | Jye McNeil | 2.4L | 12 | 52kg | $12 | ||
| 10 | 2 | ASFOORA | Henry Dwyer | Mitchell Aitken | 2.5L | 11 | 57.5kg | $9 | ||
| 11 | 1 | KALLOS | James Cummings | Blake Shinn | 2.7L | 15 | 58kg | $12 | ||
| 12 | 5 | CHAIN OF LIGHTNING | Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman | Ms Carleen Hefel | 2.8L | 10 | 53.5kg | $31 | ||
| 13 | 3 | SKEW WIFF (NZ) | Mark Walker | Craig Williams | 2.9L | 3 | 55.5kg | $26 | ||
| 14 | 11 | LEMPICKA | Ken & Kasey Keys | Blaike McDougall | 3.9L | 14 | 52kg | $41 | ||
| 15 | 6 | NAJEM SUHAIL | Robbie Griffiths & Mathew de Kock | Ms Celine Gaudray (a) | 4.65L | 8 | 53.5kg | $21 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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