Miss Ole prevails at Flemington to stamp Coolmore Stud Stakes ambitions

Miss Ole and Espana stamped their credentials as fillies of the future at Flemington on Saturday.
The pair engaged in a stirring duel late in the Brendan Drechsler Handicap (1100m), with Miss Ole, trained by Clinton McDonald, shading Espana on the post.
Espana, trained by Lloyd Kennewell and Lucy Yeomans, pinched a break inside the last 200m and held a margin until Miss Ole stretched out.
'She's a winner,' McDonald said.
'She had to be tough there, she was just coming and coming.
'I was confident but it was coming very quickly the post.
'I know Lloyd Kennewell has a good opinion of his horse … it ran fantastic, I think it will be a good form race and she can go to the paddock … and we'll look for something in the spring for her.'
Miss Ole too strong at Flemington giving her back-to-back metro wins, a filly on the rise! @cmcdonaldracing @bennallen44 @FlemingtonVRC pic.twitter.com/k68WBwvsN1
â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) June 7, 2025
McDonald said the straight experience would benefit Miss Ole on a spring path towards the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Derby Day.
'She's not a big filly but she's tough and tenacious,' McDonald said.
'We don't know where the ceiling is just yet.
'She's been down the straight so we'll look at the Flemington straight races for the three-year-olds, we'll see where she ends up … obviously a race like the Coolmore could be on the cards.
'We'll target something like that, I think she's a very good filly and I think she'll keep improving.'
Miss Ole stepped slowly on debut at Warrnambool and finished fifth.
She made amends with a strong come-from-behind at Sandown last start.
'It's good to have another nice filly and she'll be somewhere in the spring,' McDonald said.
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