The Championships Day 2: Treasurethe Moment lands rare Oaks double with nerve-wracking victory at Randwick

Treasurethe Moment was expected to win the Australian Oaks with ease but gave trainer Matt Laurie some anxious moments before producing an improbable victory.

Treasurethe Moment (right) runs down $51 outsider Sun ‘N’ Sand in the Group 1 Australian Oaks at Randwick. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Wonder filly Treasurethe Moment had to survive the biggest scare in her long winning streak to complete the Oaks double at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Treasurethe Moment looked to be struggling halfway down the straight but turned imminent defeat into an improbable win in the Group 1 $1m ATC Australian Oaks (2400m).

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For a filly sent out at odds of $1.55, Treasurethe Moment was expected to win by a far greater margin than a long neck win but she needed to show a fierce determination to reel in her rivals and score her eighth consecutive win.

The Oaks was run at a pedestrian early speed and the overall winning time of 2min 33.27sec was more than six seconds outside the race record.

The fillies classic developed into sprint home with the Matt Laurie-trained Teasurethe Moment needing to almost break 33sec for her final 600m to get up and win.

“Incredible really, I feel like I am going to burst into tears,’’ Laurie said.

“I was pretty nervous about today. I mean, small field, often they can be a bit kind of messy and it wasn’t the smoothest race to watch.

“They walked a bit, she didn’t have much cover, she was on the wrong lead, they all came off the turn and she was under siege – but she is a winner.’’

Treasurethe Moment became the first filly since Serenade Rose in 2006 to win the VRC Oaks-ATC Australian Oaks double when she wore down a very game Sun ‘N’ Sand ($61) to win by a long neck with a similar margin to You Wahng ($21).

An epic win by Treasurethe Moment in the G1 Australian Oaks! She nabs the Victorian-Australian Oaks double in the final strides! 🙌@mattlaurierace | @LaneDamian | @aus_turf_club | @WorldPoolpic.twitter.com/0TP9YjxkuE

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 12, 2025

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Melbourne’s top jockey Damian Lane, who won the Golden Slipper last month on Marhoona, completed the classic double with his wins on Treasurethe Moment and Aeliana in last week’s ATC Australian Derby.

“She’s a beauty,’’ Lane said of Treasurethe Moment.

“She’s a pleasure to ride, she got me out of a bit of a sticky spot at the top of the straight.

“The leader really sprinted well and I probably gave her a bit too much leeway and had a bit of ground to make up.

“But she ended up knuckling down when it counted, those real good special horses, they just find a way.’’

Laurie has also enjoyed an outstanding Sydney autumn carnival with three Group 1 wins from Treasurethe Moment (Vinery Stud Stakes, ATC Australian Oaks) and Vinrock (ATC Sires) but it was clear the Oaks meant a lot to him.

“You have a plan, but you don’t expect things to go the way you dream,’’ he said.

“To have it work out the way it has for us is just unbelievable. We had four races mapped out for her to win in the autumn and to do it is just amazing.”

Treasurethe Moment, owned by Yulong, nearly drowned in the Victorian floods two years ago but has now developed into an outstanding filly with nine wins (and two seconds) from 11 starts including three at Group 1 level for $2.5m prizemoney.

Winning trainer Matt Laurie and jockey Damian Lane. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

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“The floods were a hell of a time for all those studs through that region and this filly could have not been here,’’ Laurie said.

“So, she holds a special place in not only our stable’s heart but the whole Yulong team.

“It’s an incredible story for mine, she is the best filly in the nation.’’

Sun ‘N’ Sand gave trainers Barbara Joseph and her sons, Paul and Matt Jones, a real thrill when she nearly upset Treasurethe Moment.

“This filly cost us only $50,000 and thanks to Max Whitby and Neil Werrett for agreeing to buy half of her, and hasn’t she run a race,’’ Joseph said.

“At her very first start when she won at Queanbeyan back in October, I said to the boys this filly will be in the Oaks.

“We gave her the same program I gave Ain’t Seen Nothin’ in 2003 who ran fourth in the Oaks but this filly has gone so close to winning.

“I thought Sun ‘N’ Sand was going to win about 100m out but for her to run second to that good filly, Treasurethe Moment, is unbelievable.”

Originally published as The Championships Day 2: Treasurethe Moment lands rare Oaks double with nerve-wracking victory at Randwick