Stay With Me Top Price 8/1 To Win The Oaks After Thousand Guineas Win

Stay With Me is now top price 8/1 to win the Crown Oaks 2016 at Flemington next month – after her victory in Saturday’s Thousand Guineas at Caulfield.

The three-year-old bombed her start and was last at halfway, but recovered well to overwhelm her rivals and claim the victory in the Group 1 spectacular, on a course where she had only managed a sixth-placed showing the week before.

With that win, the David Hayes and Tom Dabernig-trained filly is now the joint-favourite for the Thursday November 5 race at Sportsbet, who offer an industry best price of 8/1 Stay With Me to win the Crown Oaks at Flemington.

Keeping It In The Family

Despite a poor start, Stay With Me was able to take advantage of race leader Take Pride weakening in the home straight and come through between horses – accelerating clear 200m out – to take the win by one-and-three-quarter lengths from second-place Jameka.

In doing so, she was able to emulate her dam Miss Finland – also trained by Hayes – by winning the Thousand Guineas.

Winning jockey Dwayne Dunn said: “She bombed the start, jumped straight up in the air and – when you ride for David – you know the rules and you know the instructions, so I just had to go back and ride for luck.

“We know how good she is. She wasn’t herself the other day, but she brought her a game today.

“I just wanted to switch her off and, once she got on the bridle, her class came out.

“Her mother was a superstar and she’s very very good.”

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Next Showing Decision Still To Be Made

While also praising the ride, Hayes – who trains the daughter of Street Cry in partnership with Dabernig – revealed that he will wait on deciding on Stay With Me’s next start for now.

He said: “Top marks to Dwayne. He obviously had a lot of horse under him, but he rode her perfectly after the start she had.

“We’ll have a team meeting. She’s a Group I winner now and that was the aim.

“She’ll be at Flemington, whether it’s the Oaks or maybe the Mackinnon (Stakes), or I would not be frightened to try her at the mile. We’ll see.”