Everything went right for Linda Meech at Caulfield on Saturday aboard Group 1 Oakleigh Plate winner Pippie.
The pair led from barrier to box to win by half a length, handing Meech her second Group 1 win as well as a spot in the history books as the first-ever female jockey to win the time-honoured race.
Pippie was a $12.00 chance to win the Oakleigh Plate on Saturday. Photo Credit: Ultimate Racing Photos.
With the majority of favourites struggling to make up ground on the choppy track, Meech wasted no time setting the pace up front as the pair picked up speed on the outside of Ball of Muscle.
From there, Pippie took off like a jet as Meech utilized her speed and turn of foot to put the rest of the field to bed.
“She’s just pure speed, I said to Linda, handlebars down as soon as the gates open. She’s just pure speed and fresh, she’s extra, extra special” winning trainer Chris Meagher said after the race.
“I said last time in she went out a little girl and she’s come back a grown-up woman. Today she was just pure speed and too good, fantastic result.”
Meech only brought out the whip at the 50m mark with second place-getter Zoutori looming, but the pair still had plenty left in the tank.
Pippie, who was first-up after running second in the Group 3 Furphy Sprint at Flemington back in November, currently holds no other nominations going forward. With five wins from nine race starts though, the lightly raced four-year-old has plenty of options ahead.
Alongside Meech’s milestone, Pippie also became the seventh horse to win the Oakleigh Plate from a double-digit barrier in the last 12 years.
2020 Oakleigh Plate Results
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Barrier | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | PIPPIE | John & Chris Meagher | Ms Linda Meech | – | 14 | 52kg | $12 |
| 2 | 2 | ZOUTORI | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Jamie Kah | 0.5L | 2 | 56kg | $21 |
| 3 | 6 | CRYSTAL DREAMER | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Damian Lane | 1.25L | 9 | 55kg | $41 |
| 4 | 8 | ALL TOO ROYAL | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Michael Dee | 1.45L | 10 | 52kg | $21 |
| 5 | 19e | VAINSTREAM | John Pascoe | Anthony Darmanin | 1.95L | 1 | 52kg | $201 |
| 6 | 3 | BIVOUAC | James Cummings | Craig Williams | 2.45L | 7 | 55.5kg | $2.35F |
| 7 | 12 | HALVORSEN | Robbie Griffiths | Dean Yendall | 2.85L | 4 | 52kg | $18 |
| 8 | 10 | BOLD STAR | Gordon Richards | Daniel Moor | 3.05L | 8 | 52kg | $21 |
| 9 | 5 | BONS AWAY | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Jye McNeil | 3.15L | 12 | 55kg | $26 |
| 10 | 13 | HUMMA HUMMA | John McArdle | William Pike | 4.15L | 3 | 52kg | $26 |
| 11 | 7 | TROPE | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 4.25L | 6 | 52.5kg (cd 53kg) | $19 |
| 12 | 9 | ANJANA | Lindsey Smith | Zac Spain | 4.75L | 17 | 52kg | $61 |
| 13 | 14 | MYSTYKO (NZ) | Trevor Rogers | Dean Holland | 4.95L | 16 | 52kg | $61 |
| 14 | 16 | ANAHEED | Peter & Paul Snowden | Tim Clark | 5.15L | 15 | 51kg (cd 51.5kg) | $6 |
| 15 | 4 | FAATINAH | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Regan Bayliss | 5.65L | 5 | 55.5kg | $31 |
| 16 | 11 | FINE DANE | John Moloney | Beau Mertens | 5.75L | 11 | 52kg | $201 |
| 17 | 1 | BALL OF MUSCLE | Joseph Pride | Glyn Schofield | 7.5L | 13 | 58kg | $31 |
| 18 | 18 | FREE OF DEBT | Chris Bieg | Craig Newitt | 10.25L | 18 | 50kg | $21 |
| – | 17 | I AM IMMORTAL | Anthony Freedman | Damien Thornton | – | 0 | – | – |
