Australia: Miss Charlie Brown must hold off stablemate, invaders in Tasmanian Oaks

The Australian 3-year-old filly Miss Charlie Brown has raced exclusively at tracks on the island of Tasmania in her 11-race career.

A three-time winner, Miss Charlie Brown won her first two starts in sprints in December 2020 and January 2021 at Launceston Racecourse and her most recent start in the Strutt Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 5/16 miles at Hobart Racecourse on Feb. 11 in an 18-1 upset.

The distance of that win is important since Miss Charlie Brown starts at the same trip in Sunday’s $107,800 Tasmanian Oaks at Launceston. A home-island advantage cannot hurt Miss Charlie Brown’s chances.

While the Strutt Stakes was dominated by fillies who had raced in Tasmania in recent starts, the field of 11 in the Tasmanian Oaks includes some runners from mainland Australia stables.

In early betting on Friday, Miss Charlie Brown was 8-1 behind 8-5 favorite Honeycreeper, the winner of a one-mile handicap at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne on Feb. 9 for Godolphin Racing and trainer James Cummings.

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Miss Charlie Brown, trained by Adam Trinder, was not even the most fancied runner from the Strutt Stakes in early action. Bundle of Fun, also trained by Trinder, was the 5-2 second choice after finishing third behind Miss Charlie Brown.

Bundle of Fun was third in the Launceston Guineas at 1 5/16 miles on Jan. 26 in her first start in Tasmania. She was a two-time winner at tracks on the mainland in November and early January.

In the Strutt Stakes, Bundle of Fun raced in traffic in early stretch before closing well in the final sixteenth. Miss Charlie Brown had a much better trip, getting first jump on Bundle of Fun. Miss Charlie Brown will need another good trip to hold off Bundle of Fun and Honeycreeper in the more prestigious Tasmanian Oaks.

Launceston has an eight-race program beginning at 11 p.m. Eastern, or 8 p.m. Pacific, on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.