Saturday's big race at the Curragh is the Juddmonte Irish Oaks, the last of the four traditional three-year-old Classics on the Emerald Isle.
Aidan O’Brien is bidding to win the Irish Oaks for the eighth time and his Epsom scorer Minnie Hauk is hot-favourite to bag the €289,999 prize.
She is one of seven contenders for Irish Oaks glory at the Curragh, with the big race due off at 15:40 on Saturday afternoon and we’ve got a runner-by-runner guide and tip for the Classic contest.
Bay Balcony
Fozzy Stack’s New Bay filly won a heavy-ground maiden at Limerick in April to open her account at the fifth time of asking but has since been readily brushed aside in a Listed contest at Leopardstown. She appears to be out of her depth in this company.
Butterfly Wings
The first of four contenders for the Ballydoyle team and the mount of Ronan Whelan. A daughter of Justify, she won her maiden at Leopardstown over 1m2f in May (fourth start) but has since toiled in a trio of Listed/Group 3 events over a variety of trips. Much more demanded here.
Island Hopping
This daughter of Wootton Bassett has just one win from seven attempts, a mile maiden at Gowran Park last year. She will be partnered by Wayne Lordan and sports first-time cheekpieces but hasn’t exactly looked progressive in four runs this season.
Merrily
This daughter of No Nay Never ended last season winning the Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket, a Group 3 over 7f, but she has disappointed in three runs this season, failing to beat a rival home in a pair of French Group 1s most recently. Declan McDonogh rides as she tackles this new trip.
Minnie Hauk
The Epsom Oaks winner. She’s the fourth Ballydoyle contender and they are all by different sires. This daughter of Frankel is 3-3 since finishing second behind Wemightakedlongway on debut at Cork last October.
She won the Cheshire Oaks on her comeback and got the better of stablemate Whirl at Epsom after they drew clear. The runner-up has added her own Group 1 since back here over 1m2f and the Ryan Moore-ridden filly is the standard-bearer now.
Subsonic
Johnny Murtagh’s Lope De Vega filly has the least experience of these contenders. She was a half-length second on debut behind Minnie Hauk at Leopardstown (1m, soft) in October but disappointed when favourite for a Naas maiden (1m2½f, good to yielding) in April on her only run since. Tongue-tie is added now and it remains very early days.
Wemightakedlongway
Joseph O’Brien’s filly is the only horse to defeat Minnie Hauk so far, doing so in that Cork maiden having the benefit of experience. She won a 1m2f soft-ground Group 3 at Navan in April but was over 5½-lengths behind Minnie Hauk in the Epsom Oaks and fourth in the Pretty Polly Stakes here since over shorter. Going back up in trip should be a plus and she’s clear second-best on ratings.
Irish Oaks tips
Five of the last 10 Irish Oaks winners were British-trained, but Minnie Hauk appears to have scared off the raiders and it’s an all-Irish field now.
The Epsom Oaks heroine showed wonderful grit to secure her win last month after a sustained battle and she may not have to dig as deep against this sextet of rivals.
Wemightakedlongway is next best on ratings for Joseph O’Brien but it’s hard to see her overturning the favourite.
Merrily forced the pace in the French Oaks last time and never looked comfortable before that in French 1000 Guineas. This is a much weaker contest and Declan McDonogh’s filly could shine if getting time to settle in what may not be an end to end gallop.
Straight-forecast: 1st: Minnie Hauk 2nd: Merrily
