BRISEIS STAR OF THE OAKS
1911 VRC Oaks winner, Wilari. (Australian Racing Museum)
also won the Oaks. She came close to equalling the achievement of Briseis, because she too ran in the Melbourne Cup, finishing fifth to Bitalli. In modern times, owners and trainers prefer to keep their staying three-year-old fillies for the Crown Oaks alone. Between Auraria and Frances Tressady, four fillies won the Derby and Oaks double: Lady Wallace (1905), Wilari (1911), Carlita (1914) and Furious (1921). Of these, only Furious and Carlita attempted the Melbourne Cup in between. Both finished unplaced. While Briseis will retain her distinctive record, there are other reasons why her story attracts special notice. Her dam, Musidora, bred, owned and trained by James Wilson, ran in five Melbourne Cups, finishing second to Banker in 1863. It took a while for a Wilson horse to win the Cup. In 1870, his son James junior finished second on Lapdog to Nimblefoot, and next year again he rode second placegetter, Romula, behind The Pearl. At last the younger brother, William, won the Cup for the stable in 1873 on Don Juan. This bankrolled Wilson’s new establishment, the famous St Albans Stud in Geelong. The boys outgrew their jockey proportions and became footballers, so little Peter Bowden, riding as ‘St Albans’, became the stable lightweight.
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