In-form Wilson stable lays out almost all the cards in Oamaru Cup
Matt Markham - Raceform • July 19th, 2025 12:00 PM • 5 min read
In an ideal world Bevan Wilson wouldn’t be lining up three of his four current racehorses in the same race this weekend, but he and his wife Robyn have a loftier target in mind and their hand has been forced.
Not that the duo are complaining. The mere fact they’ve got three live chances in Sunday’s Crombie and Price Ltd Oamaru Cup is a testament to the recent run of form they’ve been enjoying and also to their ability to place and prepare their horses to win races.
With just a few weeks of the season remaining, the Wilsons are enjoying a red-letter 12 months for their boutique team. From 41 starters for the season, they’ve claimed nine wins and have a team of winter gallopers that could well see that figure increase and give them a strong platform for the next term as well.
“We’ve enjoyed a bit of success lately and it’s been great,” Bevan Wilson told RaceForm. “But, as we know, this game can be a great leveller sometimes, so you’ve got to enjoy them when they come.
“We don’t train too many, just enough to keep us busy, and we’ve been lucky with some of the horses we’ve had in the barn who have given us a huge thrill.”
Lord Darci, Royal Valour and Victorian Charm will all contest Sunday’s feature – the final serious hitout before the Grand National Carnival at Riccarton in early August. It’s hoped that all three might be able to do enough to earn themselves a spot in the Gr.3 Winter Cup.
Lord Darci hasn’t been sighted since an impressive fresh-up win at Wingatui back at the start of June, but the joy of that win was soured slightly in the days after.
“He came out of the race with a bit of an injury. Initially we thought he had been galloped on, but it seems more likely it’s happened in the float on the way home.
“It took a long time to heal properly and even came out in a bit of a hematoma, which slowed things down further. It wasn’t ideal, because we’ve missed two key races with him. Given he hasn’t had much racing in the past 12 months, it’s left us a little behind the eight-ball.”
A former Winter Cup winner back in 2022, Lord Darci’s career has been nothing close to plain-sailing. After his big win he contracted a mystery issue which is believed to have been a bone infection, and it curtailed many of his racing plans and left the Wilsons wondering if they’d ever see the same horse again.
He looked on song for a repeat after returning last year when he ran second in the Oamaru Cup behind Master Marko, but never got warm in the Winter Cup and finished 15th.
“We’re chasing our tail a bit to have him ready for the Winter Cup, but with so few opportunities down here at the moment, we’ve had to take him this week.
“If nothing else, it’s going to give us a good idea on where we are at. He’s nice and bright at home, and he is the sort of horse who goes out there and gives you everything, so nothing would be a surprise.”
With 60 kilograms to carry on Sunday, Wilson is likely to look to utilise a claim on the now seven-year-old, but no matter what unfolds there, he’s set to give his two stablemates a bit of an advantage. Both Royal Valour and Victorian Charm have been handed 54 kilograms for this week and both are on trial for the Winter Cup too.
A bold winner in the muck at Ashburton back at the start of the month, Royal Valour is low-flying, but Wilson has one major concern for this week.
“We’ve taken him to Oamaru in this kind of form a couple of times before and he’s let us down. It’s a different kind of wet track down there, but we’re hoping, as he continues to mature and grow, that he can put that behind him this week.
“He’d probably need to win to make the Winter Cup, but we feel he’s a horse who would be well suited to the race, so we’re hoping it works out for him.”
Victorian Charm is a half-brother to Lord Darci, both from the Wilson’s former good racemare Madam Victoria, and right now might be the most progressive horse in the barn. An emphatic winner at the Amberley meeting at Riccarton last month, when beating On Song and Express Coup, the five-year-old looks to have really switched on to the racing game this campaign.
“He’s really starting to mature a lot, but it’s taken us a while to get him to this point. His ability to land on the pace is a great asset at this time of the year, and Oamaru should really suit him.
“It’s a shame we have to line all three of them up in the same race, it’s something we would usually try and avoid, but given the Winter Cup looks suitable for all of them, we didn’t have much choice and will just have to try and make the most of it.”
Three could have easily been four too, with another of Madam Victoria’s progeny, Victor Rouge, capable of stepping out over the mile. But the Wilsons have instead elected to tackle the 1200m open handicap this week.
“He’s just been getting a bit keen early. It’s not fully his fault. He was in a race on the synthetic and there were a lot of scratchings, which meant when he jumped so well he landed in front, which isn’t really his go.
“The hope is that, by stepping back to the 1200m, he can relax a little more and hopefully find one to follow because he’s so good with a sit and one go at them.”
Victor Rouge will meet a smart field for the $40,000 event, taking on the likes of Epee Beel, Express Coup, Penvose Lad and last year’s Oamaru Cup winner, Master Marko.
