Last year's G1 Blue Diamond S. heroine Earthquake (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) prepared for a return in the Feb. 28 G1 Oakleigh Plate with an eye-catching trial victory at Cranbourne yesterday. Racing prominently early in the 800-meter heat, Earthquake took a clear lead on the inside rounding the bend and lengthened her advantage to 3 1/2 lengths on the wire under mild hang urging from Chad Schofield. She clocked the 800 meters in :45.79.
Earthquake also won last autumn's G3 Blue Diamond Prelude and G2 Reisling S. prior to finishing second in the G1 Golden Slipper. She won the G3 Thoroughbred Club S. at third asking in October and was last seen finishing eighth in the G1 Coolmore Stud S. Nov. 1.
Also on display at the Cranbourne trials yesterday was champion sprinter Lankan Rupee (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), who won the first 800 meter heat in :45.94–slightly slower than Earthquake–as he prepares for the G1 Lightning S. Feb. 21. Rated by Dane Smith, the 5-year-old gelding swung wide off the turn and bested dual Group 3-winning filly A Time For Julia (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) by a length.
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