Racing: Sargent seeks Oaks double

Thunder Lady storms home to win the Wakeful Stakes at Flemington on Saturday. Photo / Getty Images

When John Sargent won last year's A$300,000 Wakeful Stakes with Kirramosa he couldn't shake off winning rider Tommy Berry in the birdcage afterwards.

Berry was hoping Sargent would leave him on Kirramosa in the Oaks five days later on the basis that in racing you can't take a winning jockey off.

But Sargent stayed staunch to Nash Rawiller, who had been suspended for the Wakeful and the pair won the Oaks.

On Saturday, even before the Sargent-trained Wakeful winner Thunder Lady had returned to the weigh-in under Blake Shinn, Tommy Berry was again chipping at Sargent's heels.

This time circumstances were different. Blake Shinn is suspended for Thursday and Berry wanted reassurance Sargent was about to honour a suggestion that Berry be on Thunder Lady's back in the A$1 million Oaks on Thursday.

Berry did not have a Wakeful ride and in a fleecy jacket to keep out the Flemington cold he stood firmly beside Sargent, while the former New Zealand and now Sydney-based trainer completed two television interviews. He left his side only after the important riding engagement was confirmed.

"Isn't racing strange?" said Sargent. "A year ago ,Tommy was gutted he couldn't ride Alamosa in the Oaks, now I'm able to get him square with that through someone else's bad luck."

It was a magnificent winning ride by Blake Shinn. A fierce head wind on Saturday played right against horses racing in the open up the home straight and Shinn kept Thunder Lady cuddled up and protected behind a wall of horses until the 200m, before clearing a pocket and charging past the leaders.

It will be a real accomplishment if Sargent can win the Wakeful/Oaks double in successive years, particularly as Thunder Lady went into Saturday's group two event as a maiden.

At her previous start she had been beaten into third in an 1850m Newcastle maiden.

"I've always rated her," said Sargent of the Hong Kong-owned filly, "and all she's needed is more ground. She'll love the 2400m of the Oaks."

Sargent says people think he's strange for wanting to continually train large teams of temperamental fillies.

"I enjoy the challenge. You can gallop your colts as often as you like, but you can't do that with fillies and I love working around that."

Sargent was confident Alamosa would complete the double 12 months ago and was happy to declare the same sentiments around Thunder Lady.