BERRY BACK ON QUEENSLAND OAKS WINNER

KRIS Lees has left no stone unturned in his bid for further Queensland success with You Wahng at the lucrative Magic Millions carnival.

The leading Newcastle trainer sent the Group 1 winner back to his Gold Coast base early to prepare her for a crack at an MM double on the next two Saturdays.

And he has recalled You Wahng’s Queensland Oaks winning jockey Tommy Berry for Saturday’s $500,000 The Wave (1800m) at the Gold Coast.

Berry partnered You Wahng in her defeat of Pinito and Adelaide’s Australasian Oaks winner Benagil in the Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm last June; her third win at only her ninth start.

Lees bypassed the spring racing with the now four-year-old daughter of So You Think, and gave her two Sydney lead-ups over shorter distances before floating her north.

Tyler Schiller rode You Wahng in both the Group 3 Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on November 29 and Group 2 The Ingham (1600m) at Royal Randwick on December 13.

“You Wahng went back to our Gold Coast stable after The Ingham, and had a nice tick-over trial (fourth to Yellow Brick, beaten just under two lengths) there on December 30,” Lees said today.

“She is ready to go to The Wave, and starting to get to a more suitable distance will help.

“All going well, You Wahng will back up in the $1m MM Subzero over the Queensland Oaks 2200m the following Saturday.”’

You Wahng is the sole provincial entry of 19 for The Wave, which is run under weight-for-age conditions, whereas the Subzero is run as a Quality with a 61kg maximum.

In TAB.com.au’s early market on The Wave, You Wahng is on the third line of betting at $8, with last year’s winner (when the race was transferred to the Sunshine Coast), Queensland mare Miss Joelene the $2.50 favorite.

Meanwhile, talented Scone five-year-old Know Thyself is favorite to land another provincial feature at Wyong on Saturday.

Already the winner of eight of his 12 starts, Know Thyself heads betting at $3.50 for the $500,000 The Lakes (1600m), ahead of the Bjorn Baker stablemates Amor Victorious ($5) and Robusto ($6).

Baker is following a similar program to last year with Robusto, who was runner-up to Waterford in the inaugural running of The Lakes after winning the Group 2 The Ingham (1600m) at Randwick, and finishing second in The Buffering (1400m) at Eagle Farm.

Robusto ran third to Yorkshire in the recent renewal of The Ingham before finishing an excellent second to Need Some Luck in last Saturday’s The Buffering.

The Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich-trained Know Thyself, last year’s Country Championships Final winner, also took the $500,000 The Coast (1600m) at Gosford’s Saturday stand-alone metropolitan meeting last May.

Know Thyself has 56.5kg for The Lakes, with Robusto (61kg) heading weights.

Wyong trainer Nacim Dilmi (Salt Lake City and Charleroi) and Lees (Valimi) have the three provincial entries for The Lakes.

Irish import Salt Lake City was runner-up in last year’s Listed Wyong Gold Cup (2100m), and has trialled twice in preparation for his return.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, JANUARY 6, 2026 - PICS MAGIC MILLIONS