Jockey Damien Oliver has captured his sixth VRC Oaks win after riding Personal to victory in the Group One fillies classic at Flemington.

It was Oliver’s 122nd Group One victory and the 23rd elite win in his Melbourne Cup Carnival career.

Only Bobbie Lewis, with seven VRC Oaks and 24 Group One Melbourne Cup Carnival wins, is in front of Oliver in both fields.

Personal’s win was also the first Group One victory for the training team of Tom Dabernig and his cousin Ben Hayes.

It was a textbook Oliver ride over 2,500 metres, as he eased Personal back at the start into fourth-last position and kept creeping up out wide before the turn.

It appeared Salto Angel and Montefilia would fight the race out but Personal grabbed them with 100 metres to go and hit the front with 50 metres remaining.

Personal defeated Salto Angel by one-and-a-quarter lengths, with Montefilia placing third.

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“It was a real slog, the last four or five hundred metres with the second and third horses,” Oliver said.

“She’s had a great prep and hadn’t been able to win but she’s won the one that mattered. She’s was really tough and it was a good win.”

Oliver said that Personal had peaked physically on the day, which was a credit to Dabernig and Hayes.

The pair took over the training of Lindsay Park when Hayes’s father David relocated to Hong Kong in the middle of the year.

The VRC Oaks was Personal’s second win in nine starts.

“She can sprint and stay and she’s got some magnificent attributes,” Dabernig said.

“I think we haven’t seen the best of her yet. I think there is still more to come.”

AAP



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