Horse Racing: Irish Oaks to field 16 fillies
Sunday’s Irish Oaks is all set to become the horse race to watch out for in Ireland this summer. The Grade 1 race will allow sixteen 3-year-old fillies to compete against each other for the prize at Curragh. The field for Sunday is predicted to be the largest for Irish Oaks in the last 34 years of horse racing at the venue. Epsom Oaks winner Snow Fairy and runner-up Meeznah will be starting the race and are expected to clinch the title. Nevertheless, Hibaayeb and Snow Fairy stand together and are leading the odds at 7/2, just a step behind Meeznah and Rosanara.
The race would be an opportunity for Meeznah to settle the score with Snow Fairy in the Epsom Oaks. Meeznah lost the race by a neck in that race and there is no reason to count the filly out of the upcoming Irish Oaks. Meeznah, a relative amateur, has had four starts. It was placed in the first and second position in the first two races and in the third position in two other races. To date, the horse has £85,000 in earnings.
Another veteran of the Epsom Oaks competing on Sunday would be Remember When, who finished on the third place on no more than a few lengths behind Meeznah. Any of the Epsom 1-2-3 could finish on Sunday with a double Oaks win. Consequently, the horse would become only the 13th filly ever to do so.
Snow Fairy’s trainer, Ed Dunlop was surprised at the side of the field and said the he didn’t expect 15 other fillies at the Irish Oaks. He was glad that Snow Fairy would start at stall 9 which is smack in the middle of the track. “She is in good form,” he said adding that after the field has been decided, they would now start to prepare and decide what they would do in the race. Snow Fairy has two wins in 7 starts along with £234,000 in earnings.
There are those who are sceptical of Snow Fairy’s abilities on the rain softened terrain. Speaking of the conditions, Ed believed that Curragh had seen a lot of rain on Thursday and more was expected on Saturday night. “Curragh does dry out very fast,” he said, adding that Snow Fairy wouldn’t be the only horse that does not want the ground to be too soft on Sunday.
Among them would be Hibaayeb and Meeznah. Hibaayeb’s trainer, Saeed Bin Suroor, would be hoping that Saturday night’s expected downpour won’t happen because he believes the filly’s chances are better on a harder surface. Meeznah’s trainer expressed a similar sentiment adding that they wanted a “good flat racing ground” which would be fair for all 16 horses.
The French have also decided to show up at the race with a 4/1 favourite, Rosanara. Starting off with 5/1 odds, the filly was bumped up to 4/1 and could go higher by Sunday. Rosanara finished second in her most recent start at the French Oaks. Rosanara leads the earnings table for the Irish Oaks with £401,000 in winnings.
Aidan O’Brien shouldn’t be counted out just yet either. The favourite among Ballydoyle’s entrants is Remember When but there would be more from Ballydoyle at the Irish Oaks. Not counting last year, Aidan O’Brien has won the Irish Oaks three times in a row from 2006 to 2008. Two of those times it was Johnny Murtagh who rode O’Brien trained fillies. This year Murtagh would be aboard Remember When once again.
Remember When won’t be alone in the field. Confirmed for Sunday are Awe Inspiring and Cabaret from Ballydoyles stables. Jockeys Heffernan and Donoghue would be riding alongside Johnny Murtagh. A win by anyone of the three would bring Aidan his fourth win at Curragh but the odds are against them on Sunday’s star studded line-up.
Godolphin’s Hibaayeb was reported to be in the form of her life. However her grade 2 performances at Ascot still means that in the Grade 1 race at Curragh, Hibaayeb would have to take it up a notch or two at least.
Other names in the line up include, Rumoush, Gertrude Bell, Akdarena, Aviate, Bikini Babe, Timepiece, Champagnelifestyle, Marie De Medici, Ceilidh House and Sajjhaa.
Tags: