Powers Of Opal set for rematch with boom filly Treasurethe Moment in Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes

Victorian boom filly Treasurethe Moment will be the horse to beat in the Vinery Stud Stakes but trainer John Sargent is hopeful of causing an upset.

Mitch Cohen

2 min read

March 27, 2025 - 6:30AM

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Treasurethe Moment (right) and Powers Of Opal (left) clashed twice in the spring. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Racing Photos via Getty Images

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Trainer John Sargent knows better than most about the unenviable challenge of trying to overpower Victorian boom filly Treasurethe Moment in Saturday’s Group 1 $750,000 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens.

Sargent got first-hand experience last year when Treasurethe Moment got the better of his own filly Powers Of Opal in a pair of Flemington clashes during the spring.

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Powers Of Opal ran runner-up to Matt Laurie’s rising superstar in both the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes and Group 1 VRC Oaks.

The pair will clash for a third time in the Vinery where Treasurethe Moment, a winner of both starts impressively this preparation, is the $1.65 favourite to salute.

“Powers Of Opal seems fit and well and hopefully she can run well because there is a very good horse we’ve got to try and beat, and the rest of the field of course,” Sargent said.

“Treasurethe Moment going this way around might be a bit different but she is very good so we will have to be on top of our game to be competing with her there in the finish.

“It will be interesting.”

• Kiwi ‘speed freak’ favourite for Flemington sprint

Powers Of Opal ($17) has missed the placings in both of her starts this preparation, finishing 12th in the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) and sixth in the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m).

But Sargent is expecting her to come into her own in the 2000m test as she prepares for an eventual date with next month’s Group 1 $1m Australian Oaks (2400m) at Royal Randwick.

“I expect a big improvement,” Sargent said.

“I think she just needs the ground now, being an Ocean Park, I’ve added blinkers on her with a strong rider like Tom Marquand.

“The rain coming will be interesting because I’ve never run her in the wet.

“Some Ocean Park’s like it and hopefully that might help as well.”

Treasurethe Moment winning the Wakeful Stakes last spring. Picture: George Sal-Racing Photos via Getty Images.

Marquand will also ride the favourite in the Group 1 $1.5m Tancred Stakes (2400m) on the same program as the William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour ($3.40) looks to make a winning return to Australian racing.

Dubai Honour, a winner of the Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2023, meets a crack field of 13 rivals in the Tancred.

Group 3 Sky High Stakes victor Vauban ($4), 2023 Tancred Stakes winner Arapaho ($6) and Caulfield Cup hero Duke De Sessa ($7) will give further weight to the feature field.

Champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller will saddle up close to half of the field with six starters, including new Yulong-owned imports Zarir ($17) and River Of Stars ($11).

La Crique, a Group 1 runner-up at her past four starts in New Zealand, has made the trip across the Tasman for a crack at Sydney’s autumn carnival.

Originally published as Powers Of Opal set for rematch with boom filly Treasurethe Moment in Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes