Father Patrick filly flawless in Northern Trotting Oaks

The Tony Herlihy trained and driven filly Our Col was an effortless winner of the Group 3 Northern Trotting Oaks at Alexandra Park on Friday night.

Starting from the outside barrier, the 3-year-old daughter of Father Patrick came off the gate strongly to sit parked early before wresting the lead from the second favourite Petite Armour.

Once in front, Our Col dictated the tempo, then easily shrugged off the challenge of Petite Armour in the straight to score unextended by three lengths, with a whopping 33 and a half lengths back to the third-placed horse Mechanica.

Our Col’s winning time of 2:44.4 was the fastest edition of the Northern Trotting Oaks run to date, but still 2.1 seconds outside the national record she set for the distance at Cambridge Raceway in April.

She has now won four of her six starts, placed in the remaining two, and banked $95,658 in stakes earnings.

Bred by Breckon Lodge Ltd, Our Col is out of the four-win Muscle Hill mare Cheeky Babe, a half-sister to the Group 1 winner Bet N Win, and was purchased at the 2024 NZB Standardbred Auckland Yearling Sale by Herlihy for what now seems a bargain price of $27,500.

It was a good night for Nevele R’s trotting stallions at Alexandra Park, with the Creatine mare Walkinonsunshine taking out the North Island Mares Championship Trot and the Father Patrick gelding Confessional also winning on the card.