EXOTIQUE MISS ON TRACK FOR THE QUEENSLAND OAKS

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, April 24, 2024

The Michael Nolan trained Exotique Miss continues to go from strength to strength and her latest win ... and best win to date ... in the Listed Daybreak Lover at Eagle Farm over 1400m on Saturday keeps her firmly on a path to tackle the Group 1 Queensland Oaks on June 8.

“I know she is in the Stradbroke betting ... but we want to go to the Princess Stakes and back up over the mile next week and then go towards the Oaks,” said Nolan.

“We dead-set want to try her as a stayer over ground. She is a three-year-old filly once in her life ... so that’s our plan.

“It was because we were following the path that we had set out that we came to the Daybreak Lover in the first place ... in spite of the very wide barrier draw.

“During the week we drew barrier 18 (that would come into 14 on race-day). I sent a few texts out to the boys and said it was a terrible alley. They agreed that we were still going. That’s part of the plan, so that’s why we were at Eagle Farm.”

Nolan has every right to be aiming high with Exotique Miss.

The daughter of Stradbroke winner Under The Louvre is now a four-time winner from nine starts ... with two runner-up finishes ... and her rate of progress in her three runs to date this year could not have been more impressive.

Exotique Miss has won all three of those starts ... firstly, posting a clearcut sign of intent when embarrassing her opposition when winning by no less than 10,50 lengths in a BM65 Handicap over 1500m. Then followed another clearcut win by 2.50 lengths in a Quality Handicap over 1200m on April 6 ... and it was all rounded off very nicely when Exotique Miss completed a hat trick of wins in the Daybreak Lover.

As good as the other wins were, the Daybreak Lover win took Exotique Miss ($5) to the next level.

She had to content with an unfavourable draw and the way she overcame that was noteworthy as Robbie Dolan took her forward at a measured speed ... all the time getting closer to achieving the position he wanted to find.

By the time the field had travelled 350m, Dolan had got Exotique Miss across from five wide to just one off, tracking the leader in second place.

Approaching the home turn, Dolan took Exotique Miss up to share the lead ... and then into the outright lead on straightening ... but Exotique Miss, herself, had been tracked for some way by $5 chance Transatlantic and, while the race remained a cavalry charge with several contenders spread across the track until the 200m ... it was Exotique Miss and Transatlantic who ultimately came away to contest the finish.

And what a finish it was ... a punishing stride-for-stride battle in which every time it looked like Transatlantic might get the upper hand, Exotique Miss kept finding the extra required to peg back Transatlantic’s determined challenge.

It wasn’t over until at the line where Exotique Miss got home by the narrowest of margins.

This, after having put in the early effort to negate the draw disadvantage ... after making an early move for home ... after being placed under sustained pressure and having to fight all the way up the home straight, so it is easy to understand why the Group 1 Queensland Oaks beckons as a legitimate for yet another exciting, quality runner to have emerged from the racing hub at Toowoomba.
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STORY UPDATE:

Michael Nolan must be wondering what he has done to offend the barrier gods. Exotique Miss has drawn barrier 23 out of the 23 nominated runners for the Princess Stakes on Saturday.

“We’ve got another wide barrier but, as I’ve said before with this horse, if we waited for a barrier she’d still be a maiden. We’ll be running.”

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