Tasmanian Oaks favourite Rocknroll Willow winning at Melton on 1 August. Photo by Stuart McCormick - Harness Racing Victoria
Victorian trainer Danny O’Brien is hoping his family’s luck in Tasmanian feature races can change when Rocknroll Willow starts as a short-priced favourite in Sunday afternoon’s Listed Woodlands Stud Tasmanian Oaks (2090m).
The O’Brien family has campaigned several horses in Tasmania for feature races over the years, without quite landing the major prize they have been chasing.
“We’ve been pretty keen on trying to win a decent race over there for a while. We haven’t had a lot of luck in Tasmania,” said Danny on Thursday afternoon while waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania at Geelong prior to making the trip across Bass Strait.
“I thought this horse would be the type of horse to do the job, so we’ve had it in mind for two or three months anyway.
“She’s done a really good job, and from poor draws in a lot of her starts,” said the trainer.
Rocknroll Willow has won seven of her 13 starts, with five of those wins coming this season.
Her most recent win came at Melton on 1 August, when she led early before taking a trail at the 1200m and using the sprint lane to score in a 1:55.3s mile rate.
She was a finalist in last season’s Breeders Crown, and contested a heat of the New South Wales Oaks in April.
“It’s a huge drop in class (on Sunday).
“I think she’ll just go forward from barrier seven and it doesn’t matter if she sits in the death. She’s won a few races from there, and it hasn’t bothered her,” said Danny.
Kerryn Manning takes the drive and will be chasing her second Tasmanian Oaks victory. Her previous victory came in 2024 when Yada Yada Yada won at the Royal Hobart Showgrounds.
Earlier in the program, Manning will be chasing her second Woodlands Stud Tasmanian Derby when she partners race favourite Enjoy Life.
Trained by Emma Stewart, Enjoy Life is unbeaten in six starts across Tasmania and Victoria. He resumed at Melton on 25 July, overcoming a second-row draw over 1720m to win in a 1:52.3s mile rate.
Manning’s only Tasmanian Derby win came in 2001 with True Cam, while Stewart has won five, including the last four in succession with Maretai (2018), Celebrity Royal (2023), Kingman (2024) and Captain Perfect (2025).
This year’s Derby will also be run over the reduced distance of 2090m.
Sunday afternoon’s bumper 11-race card also includes the TTC Metropolitan Cup and the two finals of the Fehlbergs Produce Sweepstakes for the two-year-olds.
The meeting will be live-hosted on Tasracing Live with Adrian Collins, with the first race scheduled for 12:07 pm.
