After Summer took her first significant step towards the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) with a front-running victory in the Crown Oaks Preview (1800m) at Flemington.

Trainer Dominic Sutton, who already boasts Group 1 success in the Australian Guineas with Feroce, was delighted with the performance but is keeping a measured approach as he maps a campaign. “She got a very soft time in front and when he asked for it at the top of the straight, she never looked like getting beaten,” Sutton said. “It was more like a trial than a race with the speeds they went. We’ll just get her home, see how she comes through it, and plan from there.”

At $14, the daughter of The Autumn Sun wasn’t expected to dictate the event but Billy Egan had her bowling along comfortably, lifting late to stave off Seychelles ($4.20) by 1-1/2 lengths with Classic Gem ($5.50) close up in third. Egan confessed the tactics weren’t intentional. “We didn’t think she quite had the race smarts to lead but she landed there. I was getting a little worried maybe I’d gone too slow, but she showed a really nice turn of foot at the end,” he said.

Sutton admitted the VRC Oaks dream is real but far from guaranteed. “If she takes us there, then great. If not, we’ll put her away and target the autumn. But she looks like she hasn’t had a hard run and she’s progressing well.”

The filly’s pedigree has always suggested classic potential. “She’s one we identified for the Oaks from the start,” Sutton explained. “The Autumn Sun’s fillies have been excelling in staying races, and she’s continued to develop in the right way.”