Australasia gets job done as heavy favorite in Crescent City Oaks

Australasia kicked off the Louisiana Derby program at Fair Grounds with an intercontinentally popular victory in the $100,000 Crescent City Oaks.

Favored at odds of 1-10, Australasia took the lead at about the five-sixteenths pole in this mile and 70-yard dirt race but had to put in some work to wear down stubborn pacesetter Winning Romance. Winning Romance managed to hang with the odds-on favorite until the final furlong, where Australasia pulled away to win by 2 3/4 lengths. The filly paid $2.20 to win and clocked a swift 1:42.72 over what appeared to be a fast-playing surface. She earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure, nine points higher than Who Took the Money's figure in winning the Crescent City Derby.

Australasia acted up leaving the paddock and going out onto the track, jockey Florent Geroux speculating that she reacted to sound coming over the public-address system. Slightly edgy in the starting gate, Australasia stalked the pace between horses before coming up to engage the leader midway around the far turn. This was a solid victory if not quite as flashy as Australasia’s first three, an 8 1/4-length maiden win at Fair Grounds and Delta Downs stakes scored by six and 7 1/4 lengths. Australasia had raced one mile over the half-mile Delta oval, where the homestretch is barely more than a furlong long, and the longer distance and stretch might have sapped some of her brilliance. Still, the filly, by Sky Kingdom out of Ayala Strand, by Tiznow, is unbeaten after four races.

“She deserves a shot in open company, and she’ll get that next time, though I’m not sure where,” said Brad Cox, who trains the filly for Magnifico LLC and Hubert Guy.

Winning Romance easily was second best, Big Time finishing almost four lengths behind her in third.