Treasurethe Moment strikes gold in Oaks, staving off arch-nemesis to land Thursday’s Flemington feature

Star filly Treasurethe Moment has again triumphed over arch-rival Powers Of Opal for the second time in less than a week, storming away with Thursday’s Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) at Flemington.

After meeting on Saturday where Treasurethe Moment emerged a length-and-a-half the better of Powers Of Opal, the Wakeful Stakes quinella again met in the Oaks in a market reversal, with Treasurethe Moment now a $3.10 TABtouch favourite from Powers Of Opal at $3.80.

Despite drawing wide in gate 12, jockey Damian Lane sooled Treasurethe Moment over from her high draw and delivered a masterclass in riding to perch the filly perfectly one-out and two-back as Killcare Beachgirl ($26) made the pace.

Meanwhile, a couple of lengths astern, chief danger Powers Of Opal was caught three wide and unable to get closer to the rail despite hoop James McDonald’s best endeavours.

At the 600m when Inevitable Truth ($26) struck the front and committed for home, Lane angled Treasurethe Moment to the outside to stake a claim.

By the 400m, Lane still hadn’t flinched on the filly and cruised up to be only two lengths from the leader before racing to the front only 100m later.

Lane was now all action, with Powers Of Opal hooking to the very outside and beginning a searching run and making inroads on her Wakeful conqueror.

But despite the extra 500m in trip, Treasurethe Moment stayed the distance with aplomb and held her nemesis to a length-and-a-quarter.

The success provided trainer Matt Laurie with an emotional victory in Australian racing’s biggest week.

“I can’t put it into words. it was painless to watch. It’s a dream,” said Laurie.

“20 years of work really trying to achieve something like this. I’m so grateful to my team.

“You could throw anything at her, she’s that talented. She conserves all her energy and she lets down; it was very painless.”

The win rewarded the faith of her trainer, who instilled confidence in Lane that she was the right horse to take the time-honoured classic.

“She is a beauty and just kept improving this preparation,” Lane said.

“Matt said to me before I rode her last start, he thought that she was a really good horse in the making.

“She has proved them right. She is a bloody ripper.

She joined a long roll of winners to tread the Wakeful-Oaks path, also providing Lane with the distinction of being a two-time winning jockey of the feature double after victory in 2018.

“It is a tried-and-tested method - I did the same on Aristia,” Lane said.

“I was confident that was the right form. With a couple of other horses coming through (races) which you weren’t sure of - the Spring Champion and the Ethereal - I was as confident as you can be.

“The advantage that she has is that she begins well, so you it gives you that option to be a little bit positive and I said to Matty before we went out, I’d rather... just take the risk that we can get in and then from there we can win.

“She actually gave me a very similar feel to Aristia on Saturday, but hopefully can go on with it a little more.”

Though staging a 30-start career, Aristia’s only two wins would be those two races.