The Oaks De English
The eyes of the racing world will be on Epsom this weekend when it plays hosts to two of the Sim’s great races, The Derby De English and Oaks De English. The colts and fillies will be greeted by sunny skies at Epsom and the track looks to be in top order and shouldn’t disadvantage any of the runners.
This is the 7th running of the Oaks De English and the time standard is jointly owned by Surf The Turf, Saddle Up Partner and La Pata Daisy at 2:31 and 3/5ths. The
1. SISSON’S MINER 9/1 (taztiger)– Comes into Saturday’s race off a strong win in the Oak’s Trial stakes over 11fl run in week 3217. This was her first run above 9 furlongs and she relished the extra distance coming from last in the small field, 14lengths from the leader to round the field up and post a commanding 2 ½ length victory. She had put the writing on the wall with a win in a stakes over 9fl and a 3rd place at Gr III level in her previous 2 runs, ratting home from near last in both races. J Hensen will be in the saddle on Saturday and he is having a good year, winning at a tick over 12%. He has yet to have any success in the Oaks and will be hoping that Sisson’s Miner will be the horse to turn that around.
I like Sisson’s Miner this weekend. My only concern is that taztiger has taken an unorthodox leadup into the Oaks and she is facing a sharp rise in class. However in saying that I think she is definitely a filly on the up and should run the trip out, which is half the battle. Look for her to drop right out during the race and then circle the field as the leaders begin to tire.
2. TILT A WHIRL 40/1 (losthecode)– Tilt A Whirl only broke her maiden status 2 starts back at her 9th attempt, dismantling a full field over 11fl on the grass. Then to prove it was no fluke she came out and won at Stakes level in a small 4 horse field at Epsom. While it took her some time to find her feet it was no coincidence that her victories came once she was stepped up to the mile and a half and her combined winning margins for the 2 races was an impressive 11 lengths. Her biggest obstacle and query this weekend is the class factor, although she was impressive in her last two outings she is yet to break 90 and stepping from maiden company to Gr I classic company in the space of 2 runs is a big ask, especially for a filly that took over a year to break her maiden.
K Bedwell is the jockey engaged to help her make this jump and while he is having a solid year with 6 winners from 49 mounts he will be hoping to better his 8th in the Oaks from 2005, which is his best result to date.
3. GRAND TEMPTATION 11/1 (stayirish) – Grand Temptation is another horse that has progressed rapidly this year as the distances for fillies has stepped up. She booked her date for the Oaks with impressive victories in her previous two races at Stakes level. Last time out in the Arousa Challenge over 11fl she sat off the pace and then came with a strong burst from mid race to take victory, accounting for Danzig Theatre and Rock Hill Reef, who she meets again today. She really stamped herself as an Oaks contender with that win, posting a SP of 96 in the process and she is bred to run all day being by Grandera out of a Sadler’s Wells mare.
Stayirish has decided to stick by out of form jock J Plumber who is having a lean year, winning at just 6.8% but he does know what is needed in the Oaks after riding Kid Thunder to a solid 5th last year.
Grand Temptation is another filly on the up that is testing the water for the first time at this level. She has posted two very good wins and if she handles the class rise should be thereabouts for a slice of the purse.
4. DANZIG THEATRE 10/1 (wabred1) – In what is an impressive training performance Danzig Theatre is the first of two runners for wabred1, part of the Snappa racing stables. She is coming into Saturday’s race off some solid runs over 11fl including a second placing last time out to Grand Temptation in the Arousa Challenge. She has been consistent at Stakes level around the mile and a half without breaking through and it is hard to see her making that break through in tougher company this weekend. In her favour she is fit and running consistent times with Sp’s in the 90’s which she only needs to repeat here to feature in the money.
R Poulin will be the jockey this Saturday and he is going well this year with 9 winners from 72 rides but he will need to improve on his two previous rides in the Oaks where he finished 9th and 7th in 2006 and 2005 respectively.
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Q Addleman is the jockey that will try and hold her together on Saturday and he will be trying to snap a terrible year that has yielded just 2 wins at 3.6%. On the plus side he did finish 2nd on the tear away leader King’s Pye in ’03 so he does know how to rate a filly for the classic
6. WANG CHUNG 9/1 (super3) – From the super conglomerate comes the Gr III daughter of Beat Hollow, Wang Chung. She notched up her sole graded win in January when she accounted for a handy field in the Pan Handle Park Oaks over 8.5fl. Since then she has raced exclusively in stakes or graded company over 8-9 furlongs, registering 2 more placings at graded level. The query on Saturday is the distance, we know she has the class but will she stay the trip? My gut feeling is no. A filly that is brilliant enough to win in graded company over the mile trip is rarely able to keep that brilliance going over the 12 panels. Adding to the concern is her dam who was an accomplished he-male that won at graded level up to 8 furlongs but failed in his sole trip above a mile and quarter.
Wang Chung should sit on the pace this weekend and C Crawford will be the jockey in the saddle, trying to stretch every last ounce of strength out of her. He is having a good year winning at 13% but is yet to have much success in the Oaks, scoring a solitary 11th in ’04 in his only ride to date.
7. GHOSTHORSE 19/1 (bestobene) – From the 7 gate we have Ghosthorse, a stakes winning daughter of North Light. This filly has the type of form needed to win an Oaks De English. In her last run, The Sydney Oaks, she led the field for most of the race before being passed by Derockery down the stretch; however she was still strong enough to fight on for 2nd. That was her first run pass 9fl and she should derive a lot of benefit from the experience and some fitness. There doesn’t appear to be a wealth of speed on her inside so she should find the rail fairly easily and could prove hard to haul in down the stretch.
One of Epsom’s finest, J Diggs has been confirmed as the rider and he continues to do well, currently sitting 4th on the premiership ladder with 23 wins for the season. He also has probably the best record in the Oaks of any jockey, winning in ’02, placing 2nd in ’06 and finishing 4th in ’03 and ’04.
8. DAHLIYEV 9/1 (chelseydek) – Next in the line we have the Gr I winning daughter of Cryptoclearance, Dahliyev. She is currently ranked number 2 in the route category after notching a victory in the Gr I How Are You Gentlemen Cup and placings in the Train Yard Special and Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf Filly. She last raced in the 1000
Aiding her cause is the fact that chelseydek was able to book T Nugent for the ride who currently sits 2nd on the jockey’s ladder with 53 wins for the year. He will be striving to add the Oaks to his impressive resume as he is yet to win the race with a 2nd placing in ’04 his best performance to date.
9. SET THE CLOCK 5/1 (deantroops) – Our morning line favourite Set The Clock will jump from 9 and she is another daughter of boom sire Mineshaft. It is very hard to line her form up against the other fillies here as she has walked a very different and unusual road to the Oaks. 3 starts back she trounced the boys in a weak 4 horse stakes race over 9.5fl but she did win by 6 lengths and recorded a very solid Sp of 95. For her next assignment she not only stepped up to open company but also raced against older horses in the Gr III Long Legged Handicap and performed extraordinarily well, given the time of the year, snatching 4th and again registering a very strong Sp of 99 over the 10fl journey. Its not surprising after that huge performance she came back a notch last time out in the Gr II Full Moon Handicap over 9fl but she was still able to snare 3rd behind the form filly Derockery.
I have my doubts over her ability to run 12 furlongs and I certainly wouldn’t be taking the 5/1 but if she can reproduce something like her Long Legged Handicap performance against older horses 2 starts back she will be very tough to beat. C Jericho will be in the saddle on Saturday and he is a bit below his best this year with just the 7 wins but he is certainly familiar with this race after riding in all 6 previous running’s and placing in ’01 and ’02.
10. HURRICANE OCCY 10/1 (wabred1) – From the 10 post we have Snappa’s second runner Hurricane Occy, a two time graded placed daughter of champion racehorse Octagonal. She has shown plenty of improvement this year since switching to the turf, registering an allowance and stakes victory at 8 and 9fl before placing 3rd in the Gr II Storm Dog Stakes over 8. Her last run was in the Adelaide Oaks where she ran a nice 3rd but finished some 9 lengths behind the winner Kneel Before Zod, who she meets again this week. She will push forward and race just behind the pace again this weekend and should give a good honest account of herself but it is hard to see her turning the tables on the Adelaide Oaks winner.
B Christopher is the man tasked with formulating a plan to undo Kneel Before Zod and he has had plenty of success this year, booting home 7 winners at 12.3%. He also has a 100% strike rate in the Oaks after kicking home La Pata Daisy in 2005 in his only ride in the classic.
11. THE DEUCE 12/1 (fairhaven3) – From the huge lenny empire we have the up and coming daughter of Gone West, The Deuce. She is one of a handful of filly’s that has the form and credentials you would look for and expect of an Oaks De English winner. She was an easy winner 2 back in an overnight stakes race over 11 furlongs before running a great race last time out, placing 2nd in the Adelaide Oaks behind Kneel Before Zod. She raced right on the pace in that race before booting away as they entered the stretch and it was only the eventual winner that took any significant ground off her down the stretch. She was far from disgraced in that race and if she has gained some fitness since then she will prove hard to peg back down the long Epsom straight.
Look for her to push forward again this weekend and probably sit just outside Ghosthorse before upping the tempo as they come to the final bend. One of Epsom’s best in A Edwards has the riding responsibilities and he is having another profitable year, sitting 3rd on the premiership ladder with 51 wins beside his name. He hasn’t had a lot of success in the Oaks to date with a 3rd last year his only real success but The Deuce may just be the filly he breaks his duck with.
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She may get caught a little wide if she pushes forward again this week and it will be up to G Montoya to get her across and near the fence over the taxing 12fl journey. He has ridden 7 winners for the year at 13.2% but this will be his first ride in the Oaks and bredtosell will be hoping the occasion doesn’t get the better of him.
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In saying all of that she is a very consistent filly and it would be a surprise if she didn’t compete well again on Saturday and finish in the first half of the field. J Ross will be in the stirrups this week and whilst the Oaks hasn’t been a great race for him, he is having another good year with 9 winners to his name at 10.2%
14. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD 7/1 (willyam40) – From the extreme outside post we have the Adelaide Oaks winner Kneel Before Zod, a daughter of Rock Hard Ten. She surprised a lot of people that day as her form leading up to the Oaks, although solid, did not have Oaks written all over it. She had won a moderate stakes race over 8.5fl in her previous race after running 2nd in an allowance over 9.5fl. But all of that did not matter on the day where she simply outstayed the rest of the field in the Oaks and went on to post a commanding victory by 2 and ½ lengths. With the Sydney Oaks winner Derockery not entered for the Oaks De English Kneel Before Zod is the only graded winner over 12 fl in the field and she has an undeniable chance to win her second Oaks for the season and push for divisional honours.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you that this girl is going to be awfully hard to hold out, Epsom’s top jock and last year’s winning rider R Harzheim will be aboard the dashing filly this Saturday. He really is a superstar over here and is 1 race short of posting 100 for the season, an amazing 46 wins ahead of his nearest rival. The barrier should not be too much of a concern for Harzheim as Kneel Before Zod will drop out last early and as long as she gets a smooth passage through the field when he lets her go it is hard to see the other fillies holding her out.
It is a quality field that will line up this Saturday with no filly yet to stamp herself as the dominant force of the staying ranks this year. But I think Kneel Before Zod maybe the one who steps up and says “This is my year”. She was brilliant last time out in the Adelaide Oaks and that is just the type of filly that is needed to take out the English version. I think the fillies that have proved themselves over the distance already are the ones to stick with on Saturday. The Oaks De English is no place for a filly testing the murky waters of a mile and a half for the first time. I think The Deuce ran a great race in the Adelaide Oaks and will really give Kneel Before Zod something to chase down. Of the Sydney Oaks brigade I think Ghosthorse could prove the toughest. She led for a long way that day and will derive a lot confidence from the run.
Good luck to all trainers and I hope you enjoy the day.