A thrilling victory for South Australia unfolded at the 2024 Oakleigh Plate as Shane & Cassie Oxlade-trained Queman held off a fierce challenge to claim the Group 1 title on Blue Diamond Stakes Day.

Queman Wins the 2024 Oakleigh Plate

Queman Wins the 2024 Oakleigh Plate in a Caulfield thriller. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The Mint Lane gelding, taking a significant step up in class, displayed remarkable resilience to edge past Hypothetical in a photo finish.

Queman, in excellent form, built upon his recent Listed W.J. Adams victory at the same track, extending his winning streak at Caulfield to two.

Jockey Harry Coffey, who worked hard to reach the required weight, secured his second Group 1 win with an emotional post-race celebration.

“I’ve won a Group 1, so I’ve had that feeling before, but I wanted to do it again so it wasn’t a fluke, so hopefully they flow on a bit now,” he said.

The horses carrying the lightest weight dominated the podium, with Mornington Glory finishing a close third behind Hypothetical.

Co-trainer Shane Oxlade, thrilled with the victory, acknowledged the family’s dedication to racing and highlighted the win’s significance as their first Group 1 success. He emphasized the joy of training a champion and achieving such a prestigious win.

“Whether it’s Cassie or my other daughter Tamara, my wife, the whole family, we’re just battlers. We love racing, it’s been in our family all my life, it’s all I’ve done,” he told Racing.com.

“I’ve had some nice horses but to get one to come here on Oakleigh Plate day and pull it off, it’s pretty special.

“You get out of bed every day to train a good horse and to win a group race or a Group 1 is just the pinnacle of anything in our sport, isn’t it?”

Full 2024 Oakleigh Plate results and finishing order can be found here.

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About The Author

Lucy Henderson

Lucy is an experienced horse racing journalist that has been a crucial member of the horseracing.com.au team for the better part of a decade. She has taken great delight in covering champion mares Black Caviar and Winx throughout their careers and always has a soft spot for a winning filly.