3 minute read

Trainer and jockey quotes following the Group 1 Seven Queensland Oaks won by Socks Nation at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Race Result:

1st: Socks Nation (Ciaron Maher/Ryan Maloney) - $101
2nd: Our Gold Hope (Rob & Luke Price/Craig Williams) - $16
3rd: Miss Joelene (Kelly Schweida/James Orman) - $19

Winning Time: 2:17.43 Last 600m: 37.02

Margins: Long neck x 2L

Sock it to them!

Socks Nation is the G1 Queensland Oaks champ for 2024!@BrisRacingClub @cmaherracing @RMaloney_Jockey pic.twitter.com/6e5dVf0MU6

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 8, 2024

Winning Trainer: Ciaron Maher

"It's phenomenal, the team has done a super job. She's been in work 13 months, this filly, and she just keeps on running really well. I didn't tie Ryan down too much with instructions, he's pretty casual at the best of times. I was surprised she was that far forward in the run, but it worked out perfectly."

"She goes to a lot of locations, she's been to the beach and sometimes a change is as good as a holiday. She's a tough, Kiwi bred filly and they do it time and time again in these races. She worked well in the week so we didn't have to do much with her."

Winning Jockey: Ryan Maloney

"The race couldn't have panned out any better for me. I was surprised nobody came to put any pressure on us. I knew she'd stay and you just can't rule out any of Ciaron's horses, even though she was a big price. He can do it all and it's great to win my fourth Group 1, especially for Ciaron as he used to put me on his horses when I'd just come out of my time as an apprentice."

"You can't knock her form down south, it was a great training effort. We got all the breaks and she just outstayed them in the end."

"I was confident at the 600 metre mark, when I pressed the button we put a bit of a margin on them. I didn't want them to outsprint me so I went a bit earlier than I would've done usually. When Craig came up to me, I thought we might be passed but she was so tough."