1m4f (1m4f6y) Betfred Oaks (Group 1) (Fillies) (Class 1) (3yo)
Desert Flower has been sensational so far for Godolphin and the 1000 Guineas winner might have enough class to defy a huge step up in trip in the Epsom Oaks. However she is unproven at this distance and her pedigree doesn’t exactly scream 1m 4f being out by crack miler in Night Of Thunder so she is no betting proposition at 13/8.
I think there are stamina doubts over Elwateen, Qilin Queen and most likely Whirl, although the latter has some fine form. Go Go Boots and Wemightakedlongway might not quite be good enough so that leaves three.
Revoir could easily step-up massively on her first two attempts as she will clearly like the 1m 4f trip and is trained by Ralph Beckett who has won this twice with similar fillies so she is feared. But Coolmore have had such a strong grip on this race over the last decade and it’s two of theirs, both sired by Frankel, that I am siding with in the shape of MINNIE HAUK and GISELLE.
Minnie Hauk is the choice of Ryan Moore which is a tip in itself. She certainly passes the “eye-test’ as she is a beautiful looking horse that travels smoothly. She has solid if not spectacular form and won the Cheshire Oaks with quite a bit in hand against pretty weak oppostion. But she stayed the distance well and this filly can be expected to go very well here. Ryan Moore doesn’t always sit on a horse with her chance at odds of 11/2 in the Oaks and she looks decent value as a result of the short-priced favourite.
Her stablemate Giselle has been a much slower burner for Aidan O’Brien, she has been favourite in all four starts and is clearly highly regarded by her yard despite having been difficult to train.
However Giselle has arguably the most interesting case of the three Coolmore entries as she is incredibly well-bread being by Frankel and is the first offspring of a superstar Group 1 American mare in Newspaperofrecord. There is no question that Giselle must have significant ability, it just depends on whether she can show it on Friday as she has been a bit headstrong in her career to date.
A first-time hood, might have helped Giselle destroy poor opposition in a three-runner affair at Lingfield last time where the main benefit of that contest would have been getting more experience into her. So having started odds-on favourite in all four starts, it does seem generous that she goes off 10/1 here but that is clearly down to jockey bookings alone which means she’s been overlooked. It’s also worth remembering that Coolmore’s recent record shows their first string doesn’t always win when they do with 3/6 winners in the last 10 years being 2nd string or worse, so Giselle is worth chancing.
1pt win Minnie Hauk @11/2, 1pt win Giselle @10/1, 16:00 Epsom, Friday
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