By MICHAEL GUERIN
Steven Reid is ready to concede the Queensland Oaks to Tupelo Rose.
The champion filly continued her domination of the pacing fillies' ranks with an easy Queensland Oaks prelude win at Albion Park in Brisbane on Saturday night.
And left in her wake again was Reid's filly Dancingonmoonlight.
The Pukekohe trainer was not expecting Dancingonmoonlight to beat Tupelo Rose on Saturday after the favourite got the better of the draws but he was disappointed when she could manage only third.
Tupelo Rose sped straight to the lead in the 2138m mobile event and dictated terms but junior driver Scott Wallis was able to move around to sit parked during the slowest section of the race.
With Tupelo Rose sprinting her last 400m in under 28 seconds, Dancing onmoonlight could not only not make any ground but was surprisingly nabbed for second by All Eyes On Me, who had sat in the one-one.
"I was disappointed that she couldn't stay closer to Tupelo Rose in the sprint up the straight but more disappointed the other filly pipped us for second.
"We will still start in the Oaks next Saturday but really it is hard to see her beating Tupelo Rose.
"She might simply be too good for us. She has it all, she can sprint or stay, she has gate speed and can lead whereas our filly has one or two things she still can't do just yet."
Reid said Dancingonmoonlight's best and possibly only realistic hope of beating Tupelo Rose is if she draws perfectly while the champ draws poorly.
"But we have a week to try and work something out."
Reid heads to Brisbane on Tuesday to prepare the filly, with Wallis returning home for the national junior driver's champs.
Regular driver David Butcher takes the reins in the Oaks.
Racing: Tupelo Rose proves too good for challengers
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