Irish Oaks at the Curragh

The big race of the day in Europe is the Group One Irish Oaks for 3yo fillies at 16.40 CET at the Curragh. On th face of it this looks a straight rerun of the Epsom equivalent, in which Sariska (Michael Bell/ Jamie Spencer) just held on to beat Midday (Henry Cecil/ Tom Queally) by a head. Midday looked unlucky at Epsom and in fact Sariska was possibly fortunate not to disqualified as she hampered several opponents by hanging badly in the straight, but this more conventional track should be more suitable.

Once again there should be little between the two Newmarket-trained fillies, both of whom were supplemented for today´s race, but there could another problem - the weather. It rained heavily yesterday at the Curragh and the ground has turned soft. Both British fillies are believed to need good ground to produce their best form, so that the Epsom form is not certain to be confirmed. Two possible alternatives are Beauty O´Gwuan (John Oxx/ Mick Kinane) and Grace O´Malley (Dermot Weld/ Pat Smullen). The former is still unbeaten after two starts and has already shown that she can act on the going; both of these locally-trained fillies are stepping up hugely in class, but represent extremely shrewd connections. The soft ground should hold no dangers for Lady Deauville (Roger Curtis/ Hayley Turner), who contests the listed race over 9 furlongs at 15.35, in fact the more rain the better for this filly, who won a group race under this rider in Germany last autumn.

Otherwise the races for 2yo´s are the most interesting events here. The Group Three Anglesey Stakes over 6 furlongs at 16.05 has runners from most of the top Irish stables, but of more significance could be the maiden race that opens the card at 15.05. The last 2 winners of the Derby, New Approach and Sea the Stars, ran in this, so that today´s runners must be followed.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Fighting Brave - Black Quartz - Reiteration
2. Race: Lady Deauville - Shreyas - Luminous Eyes
3. Race: King Ledley - Beethoven - En Un Clin D`Oeil
4. Race: Sariska - Midday - Beauty O` Gwaun
5. Race: The Last Hurrah - Zarinava - Gratified
6. Race: Impossible Dream - Fol Hollow - Rain Delayed
7. Race: Osirixamix - Qeethaara - Diamond Shower
8. Race: Estephe - Art Broker - Tus Gealai