Miki gets plum draw in $150,000 WA Oaks

The Ross Olivieri-trained Taking The Miki (Always B Miki) has come up with the coveted barrier one for harness racing’s $150,000 WA Oaks (2536m) at Gloucester Park on Friday night (Oct. 14).

The filly enters the Group 1 feature as one of the most consistent performers in the three-year-old fillies ranks, with five wins and 11 placings from 22 starts.

Taking The Miki has been plagued by poor draws at her three most recent starts when unplaced but placed in the top four at her seven prior starts.

The filly has started from barrier one on three occasions in her career, the most recent was against the mares at Free-For-All level in February.

Wonderful To Fly (Fly Like An Eagle) has been the dominant three-year-old filly this season and has been widely considered as the one to beat in the months leading into the WA Oaks.

The filly has been beaten at her two most recent assignments to open the race up.

The Shane Young-trained filly will have a tricky assignment in trying to overcome barrier five on Friday night.

Little Darling (Art Major) has emerged as the main challenger to Wonderful To Fly over the past month, with a runner-up finish to her in the Westbred Classic and another runner-up performance behind Im Themightylucy (Sweet Lou) last Friday.

The Barry Howlett-trained filly will start from barrier two and looks set to get a golden opportunity to win the feature event.

In The Spotlight (Bettor’s Delight) and Im Themightylucy are two of the other key chances in the race but will have to overcome back line draws in 11 and 12 respectively.

Friday night’s card is littered with exciting clashes, with Magnificent Storm (American Ideal) to be the headline attraction in the Dot Williams Pace (2130m).

The gelding was super in winning the Mount Eden Sprint (1730m) last Friday and will need to be again this week to overcome barrier nine in a quality field.

Jumpingjackmac (Mach Three) has drawn barrier one for the Free-For-All event and looms as the biggest threat to the star pacer.

The Harness The Dream – Coming Soon In 2023 Pace (2536m) sees the clash of two exciting pacers in Stamford and The Mustang.

Stamford has drawn barrier one, while The Mustang has drawn barrier four for his second start in WA.

For complete race fields, click here.

by Tim Walker, for RWWA