Inside running: Spring in air as Oaks winner set to resume
VRC Oaks winner Miami Bound will kick off her four-year-old campaign at Flemington on Saturday in a first-up run that will shape her preparation.
The daughter of Reliable Man has been nominated for this year's Cox Plate, but her performances on the track will dictate what level she gets to in open class.
VRC Oaks winner Miami Bound.Credit:Eddie Jim
"Ultimately she's got to make a fairly big jump from the races she won to be competitive in the big group 1s," O'Brien told The Age last month.
"We'll keep an open mind on her. Those horses that are three turning four, you can get a bit ahead of yourself if you get too bullish on them."
Miami Bound, a winner of four from nine, will carry 61kg in the 1410-metre race with Damien Oliver on board.
Cult horse
So Si Bon is back at the races following a short winter break. The enigmatic gelding broke a long drought in April to win a mile race at Caulfield and then put two wins together at the same track and distance three weeks later.
The seven-year-old son of So You Think resumes over 1200 metres in a competitive Aurie's Star Handicap field which includes Home Of The Brave, Reykjavik, Widgee Turf, Great Again, Trope, Yulong January, Hightail and Game Keeper.
Great Again, a winner down the Flemington straight, presents as the horse to beat, having finished third in the group 3 Bletchingly last start to Viridine.
Straight star
Chicago Cup will resume at Flemington in the Farewell To Rob Gaylard benchmark-90 where he has relished the straight track.
A winner of six from 13, the Mike Moroney-trained sprinter has raced four times at Flemington for three wins but has never raced down the straight over 1000 metres.
Caviar meets Tycoon
Champion mare Black Caviar will be served by Written Tycoon this breeding season after the success of Ole Kirk on the track made the mating a no-brainer.
Champion race mare Black Caviar.Credit:Pat Scala
Ole Kirk, by Written Tycoon out of Black Caviar's full-sister, was group 1 placed in the autumn as a two-year-old and Black Caviar's owner Neil Werrett said he was excited about the pairing.
"We asked Rick Jamieson for his assistance this year in suggesting stallions for Black Caviar," Werrett told Racing.com.
"Rick is a good friend and he suggested that Written Tycoon was a great mating for Black Caviar and Black Caviar's line. And it's proven with Ole Kirk that it works.''
The unbeaten race mare has been served by I Am Invincible in the past three years and also has produce by More Than Ready, Sebring, Snitzel and Exceed And Excel.