Caulfield horseman Stuart Webb is over the moon after an eye-catching third from his improving filly Coral Coast against the boys over the weekend naming the Crown Oaks 2017 as a spring target for the daughter of So You Think.

Aloisia is current favourite in futures 2017 VRC Oaks betting. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

A winner of one of her four career starts to date, Coral Coast was stepped-up to black-type company for the first time on Saturday after breaking her maiden status the run prior at Benalla over the mile.

Coral Coast was raised in distance again at Rosehill Gardens on Golden Rose Stakes Day for a shot against the colts and geldings in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m).

Only rated a $21 outsider by the bookies, the up-and-coming three-year-old handled herself well finishing third behind 2017 Spring Champion Stakes-bound Ace High (1^st) and Sanctioned (2^nd) from the Godolphin stable.

Webb confirmed he was continuing on the path now with Coral Coast into the Group 1 $1 million VRC Crown Oaks (2500m), run this year as the Kennedy Oaks, at Flemington Racecourse on November 9 over the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

“She is a really well-bred filly so to get black-type next to her name this early is a big thrill,” Webb told Racing Victoria.

“She’s a filly that, for a long time now, we thought we’d have her on an Oaks preparation and the run yesterday well and truly puts her on that path.”

She could be seen next-up on Caulfield Cup Day (October 21) in the Group 3 $350,000 Ladbrokes Classic (2000m) or take on her own kind in the Group 3 $150,000 Ethereal Stakes (2000m) on the same day.

A final Oaks lead-up for emerging filly is likely to take place on Victoria Derby Day, November 4, in the Group 2 $300,000 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) just five days out from the Group 1.

Webb is yet to saddle-up a VRC Oaks winner, but the Wakeful Stakes has produced four of the past eight champions of the classic including Kirramosa (2013) who did the double.

Futures Crown Oaks odds at Ladbrokes.com.au list Coral Coast as a $26 roughie hope.

All-in Crown Oaks betting is currently dominated by the winter’s JJ Atkins runner-up Aloisia ($9) who resumed with a fifth in a Caulfield race over 1400m over the weekend and the Darren Weir-trained daughter of High Chaparral Anchor Bid ($9).

Check out the full VRC Crown Oaks 2017 betting odds and options online now through Ladbrokes.com.au before markets firm over the coming weeks.