Secret Gesture heads 11 fillies going for classic glory in the Group 1,
£426,250 Epsom Oaks, over 1 1/2 miles, on Friday.
The daughter of Galileo, now part-owned by Qatar Racing Limited, is the 9-4
favorite with Coral after a devastating 10-length success over Miss You Too in
the Lingfield Oaks Trial on May 11. Jim Crowley’s mount will be bidding to give
trainer Ralph Beckett a second Oaks after Look Here in 2008, and the conditioner
is finding it hard to keep a lid on his enthusiasm for the favorite.
“I hope she’s special, but
I’m not brave enough to say that just yet,” he admitted. “She’s quite a narrow,
light-framed filly but she’s been straightforward all of her life. She beat them convincingly
at Lingfield and came out of the race very well. The way she travels, I don’t think the
track will be a big issue and while Look Here got into a flap in the paddock before she
won the Oaks, this filly should be fine.”
The Andover handler has secured the services of champion jockey Richard
Hughes for his other contender Talent, who has this classic in her blood with
her third dam being Dick Hollingsworth’s 1980 Oaks heroine Bireme. The chestnut
miss is a serious second-string for Beckett and she
beat some promising types, including the re-opposing Madame Defarge, while
staying on strongly to capture the
Pretty Polly at Newmarket on May 5.
Like Ouija Board, who took that
contest en route to Oaks glory in 2004, Talent is unexposed and open to much improvement.
“She has done very
well since the Pretty Polly, both physically and in her work, and if she was my only runner I’d be looking
forward to the race,” Beckett said. “She was very keen early there and won despite doing things all the wrong way.
She’s well-balanced, will handle the whole day, the track and her pedigree says
she will stay. She’s different to Secret Gesture in that she’s a very tough,
robust filly mentally. She has a genuine chance.”
Ireland’s champion trainer Aidan O’Brien, with four Oaks victories to his
name, has two representatives in One Thousand Guineas third Moth, the choice of
stable jockey Joseph O’Brien, and impressive Cork maiden scorer Say, who will be
partnered by last year’s winning rider Seamie Heffernan.
The last Oaks winner to have
contested the One Thousand Guineas was Casual Look 10 years ago, but it was
impossible to ignore the promise that Moth showed
in the latest edition on May 5. Staying on strongly at the wire, the Ballydoyle blueblood is bred much more for this trip
than that mile and can only improve for the rise in distance.
It is interesting that Say, who is a daughter of Riskaverse, is the only other from that stable chosen for this line-up and she was visually
impressive when winning a minor event by nine lengths at Cork on May 10.
Liber Nauticus is trying to follow in the footsteps of Fair Salinia and
Unite, who captured the Oaks for trainer Sir Michael Stoute in 1978 and 1987,
respectively. The daughter of Azamour warmed up for the classic with a gutsy win
in the Musidora at York on May 15.
Kieren Fallon retains the ride on the Hughie Morrison-trained Banoffee, who
was supplemented at a cost of £30,000 after recording a comfortable 1 1/4-length
success over Gertrude Versed in the Cheshire Oaks on May 8. The bay lass had a lot against her in that prep
around Chester’s tight and unforgiving circuit, but still came out comfortably
on top.
“She looked in trouble from the start at
Chester and will have learnt a lot there,” trainer Hughie Morrison said of
his filly, who debuted in the
same Newbury maiden won by past Oaks heroines Eswarah and Dancing Rain. “The way she did it at Chester showed she can travel, quicken and stay.”
Trained by John Gosden, Gertrude Versed is bred and owned by his wife Rachel
Hood, who is no stranger to classic success having part-owned 2010 St Leger hero
Arctic Cosmos.
“Gertrude Versed has been fine since the Cheshire Oaks. She is entitled to
take her chance but her form is obviously a long way off some of the better ones
in the race,” Hood said. “We are hoping she can run well and her half-sister
Gertrude Bell ran very well to finish fourth a few years ago. It is very
exciting just to have bred a filly who is running in the race.”
“Gertrude Versed has been in good form since Chester and I think the winner
of that race (Banoffee) was rightly supplemented for the Oaks — it is not a
decision they would have made lightly. It looks to be solid form,” Gosden added.
“There are some high-quality fillies in the race on Friday and I think the track
should be no problem for our filly — there is only one way to find out and that
is by running.”
The Michael Bell-trained Sariska denied Midday by a head in a vintage renewal
of the Oaks in 2009 and the Newmarket handler is responsible for Madame Defarge
and The Lark, who have both finished third in stakes company this year.
The field is completed by Fillies’ Mile runner-up Roz, who will be ridden by
Johnny Murtagh for the first time.
The going at Epsom Downs is currently good, good to soft in places.
“The forecast for (Wednesday) is for some light, patchy rain this afternoon.
It is not predicted to amount to any great quantity,” said Andrew Cooper, Head
of Racing and Clerk of the Course at Epsom Downs. “(Thursday) could also see
some showers, while Friday and Saturday are expected to be dry.”
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