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Important update on 1476AM"Nowhere near her best": Is the 2025 Oaks winner in trouble?
Connor Scanlon • April 26th, 2026 12:33 pm
Since winning the prestigious 2025 VRC Crown Oaks (2500m), Strictly Business has returned in ordinary fashion for the Autumn Racing Carnival.
After winning that million-dollar Group 1, the three-year-old filly was sent to the paddock for a 19-week spell, and while many pundits expected her to flourish come the autumn, the Thomas Carberry-trained brown has not lived up to those expectations.
Her first-up return run was a third-last finish in the Group 3 Alexandra Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield, before finishing second-last in the 2000m Country Oaks at Ballarat, and now a 13th place finish in the Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m).
Heading into that million-dollar Group 1 at Morphettville, the daughter of Grunt was not rated in the market, closing as a $31 outsider. With punters losing confidence in her, and a string of poor performances now, is her future in trouble?
Speaking on RSN’s Correct Weight, Nick Noonan believes she may be looking for more distance, but you certainly couldn’t be backing her to win any future runs this preparation.
“She’s nowhere near her best, is she?” Nick started.
“The writing was on the wall a little bit with her first few runs this campaign, but she just hasn't come up for whatever reason this time.
“Maybe she's looking for further and they might press on to a SA Fillies Classic (2500m) or back her up into the SA Derby (2500m), but you'd be hard pressed wanting to back her off what we've seen this campaign.”
Nick’s brother Trav even believes that the connections should end this preparation for Strictly Business and hope that she returns to her Oaks form in the spring.
“That's the third bad run for the preparation,” Trav stated.
“Yeah, I'd be a little bit surprised if they kept going with this campaign.
“I think they probably turn her out in the paddock and just hope that she hasn't come up and they can get her back in the spring.”
If the filly is to continue her preparation next Saturday in the Group 1 SA Derby, she currently holds a price of $17 with Sportsbet despite opening as a $6.50 fancy.
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