Great Heavens cruises to victory in Irish Oaks at Curragh
Great Heavens ran brilliantly to ensure a convincing triumph in the Darley Irish Oaks, the Group 1 event for three-year-old fillies, held at Curragh on Sunday, July 22nd. Under William Buick, John Gosden’s charge sealed a dominating 3-length victory
and bagged the top prize worth £193,333.33.
Owned by Lady Rothschild, the daughter of Galileo broke well and settled in third at the start of the race. She niggled in 5th into straight, inflicting plenty of pressure on the rest of the pack.
After switching left one and a half furlongs ahead of the wire, the filly ran on strongly to lead 100 yards out. The 5-4 favourite drew clear in the closing stages, notching up the first spot with plenty of ease.
Shirocco Star, who eventually finished second on the table, had no chance of taking the game away from the champion filly. Hughie Morrison’s trainee looked a touch rusty in the beginning, but recovered well to make herself prominent in the middle stages.
Under Johnny Murtagh, she was in command for a while, but failed to continue the good work. Although the 7-1 chance tried her best to surpass Great Heavens, she could not dig deep enough to establish her dominance.
Similarly, Princess Highway was unable to quicken her speed inside the final furlong and as a result, ended up third on the chart. Was finished fourth, whereas Devotion completed the order of five.
The handler was very proud of his trainee, saying that the filly showed a lot of character on the track. He said after the race: “She showed a lot of class and a lot of courage; the ground is very holding so it’s not easy to pick up on that. I’d nearly given
up hope at the two furlong marker.”
“She’s classy. She had to be asked a really big question in the last furlong and she went and opened up three lengths on the field, so I think it says a lot about her,” the veteran said of Great Heavens, who is full sister to Nathaniel – the runner-up in
the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes on the weekend.
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