The Irish Oaks, the second Classic of the Irish season for fillies, takes centre stage on Saturday afternoon and Phill Anderson has two selections on the card at the Curragh.
3.45 Irish Oaks
Eight runners have been declared for the Juddmonte Irish Oaks on Saturday and, as is often the case, Aidan O’Brien has a strong hand in the race.
The Ballydoyle handler bids for a seventh win in the race and it’s hard to get away from the claims of SAVETHELASTDANCE, who was last seen finishing runner-up in the Oaks at Epsom.
The daughter of Galileo has looked at ease with cut underfoot, something she didn’t get on the Epsom Downs and, therefore, that two-length defeat could be value for more. The front three that day pulled a long way clear of their rivals and the winner has subsequently gone close in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp on ground that was probably softer than ideal for the John Gosden-trained filly.
With plenty of rain forecast before Saturday’s fixture, Savethelastdance should get her ideal conditions. Her heavy-ground maiden win at Leopardstown over an insufficient ten furlongs was a smart performance and she could hardly have been more impressive when bolting up by 22 lengths at Chester in the Listed Cheshire Oaks in similar conditions.
Her sire’s progeny often carry on progressing throughout their three-year-old campaign and if she finds any improvement at all, she will be hard to beat.
Last month’s Ribblesdale winner and stablemate of Savethelastdance, Warm Heart, could be the one to give the selection most to think about, but there’s no doubt she will need to step up again to be involved for win purposes.
One who may offer a bit of each-way value is Comhra, who was too bad to be true last time out but had previously run a big race in defeat when a close third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. This new trip could unlock some improvement.
4.20 International Curragh Cup
Another Group race that Aidan O’Brien has a bit of a stranglehold on is the International Curragh Cup, in which EMILY DICKINSON sets a clear standard on form.
She ran a big race when finishing fourth in the Ascot Gold Cup last month, sticking to her task well to be beaten only five lengths, and she showed that this trip is probably ideal for her when winning a Listed contest at Navan at the start of the campaign. That victory came on testing ground, similar to the conditions she should get on this occasion with plenty of rain expected at the Curragh. And her other Pattern-level win came on testing ground at this venue towards the end of last season.
Ryan Moore opts to ride Emily Dickinson instead of the unexposed Gooloogong and it’s likely that she will start at a shorter price than her early odds of 2-1.
Okita Soushi was as good as ever when winning at last month’s Royal Ascot meeting but the aforementioned stablemate, Gooloogong, is preferred for the forecast given that he’s proven in these conditions.
