Guy Walter has taken a different route to the VRC Oaks with Zanbagh but it's a path which has delivered results strong enough to make the filly one of the favourites for $1 million Classic.
Twenty-one of the last 30 Oaks winners have been given their Oaks lead-up run in the Wakeful Stakes and Zanbagh will be trying to buck that trend at Flemington on Thursday.
Walter instead gave his filly, a daughter of AJC Oaks winner Wild Iris, two starts at Ballarat over 1600 metres and 2000 metres, winning both times.
"She is very lightly raced and whether she made the Oaks or not, we thought giving her wins along the way would be good for her," Walter said.
"She won with a bit of authority last start, albeit against an average field, but they were older mares and they are hard to beat this time of year."
Walter admitted the Oaks, for which Wakeful Stakes winner Kirramosa ($3) has the call as favourite over Zanbagh ($4.60), will be a major step up in class for his horse.
"She has to make a big step and I'm confident she can," he said.
John O'Shea did run his filly Gypsy Diamond ($9) in the Wakeful and graded her fifth place with "a pass mark".
He said she had thrived since and he worked her on Tuesday "because she was jumping out of her skin".
"She's a very tough, resilient filly," he said.
"A lot of the fillies in the Wakeful were there on sufferance - my filly is on an upward spiral."
He will be put blinkers on her in the Oaks to help her relax.
He said Kirramosa has been racing well in Sydney but without much luck.
"Some of her runs in slowly run races have been excellent and it was no surprise to see what she did on Saturday," O'Shea said.
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