Philia will take her place in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) after a tough front-running victory in the Group 2 The Roses (2000m) at Doomben on Saturday.
The David Vandyke-trained filly, backed into $3.70 second elect, made every post a winner under Kerrin McEvoy, holding off a late surge from Jenni’s Meadow ($31) by half a length, with Movin Out ($21) third.
“The 2000 (metres) was a question mark,” Vandyke said. “She had to sprint a few times… and yet she still had the audacity to kick at the top of the straight.”
It was her fourth win from six starts and her first beyond a mile, setting up a two-week turnaround into the Oaks—a race Vandyke won in 2022 with Gypsy Goddess.
“Bring on the Oaks,” he said. “She’s just full of guts and wants to do it.”
A half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Duais, Philia has firmed into $3 favouritism, with Benagil drifting to $5 after finishing tenth as favourite.