G1 – Oaks de English

Oaks de English
Grade I
A mile and one half
Firm Turf
$500,000
Fillies and mares, 3 years old

The weather looks to be good for this challenging mile and a half G1 turf race in which some of the best 3yo fillies in the sim put their reputations, and with 5 of the top 10 turf long rankers present, their rankings, on the line. Just like the Derby I believe there are some key races to consider in the formbook:

G1-Adelaide Oaks (Wk.3574) – 12f Firm Turf

1^st        Pelennor Fields(KY)

2^nd        Famous Indy(KY)

3^rd        Vaanda(KY)

G1-Sydney Oaks (Wk.3567) – 12f Firm Turf

1^st        Day Of Triumph(AUS)

3^rd        Polyamorous(JPN)

4^th        Not Long Ago(NZ)

6^th        Rodeo Drive(KY)

11^th      Xtra Dynaform(KY)

The runners are:

WITHER AWAY(AUS)

Ranking: 17

Trainer: popsracing

(Lonhro (AUS) x Royal Academy x Nashwan)

Odds:  9/1                   Earnings: 172,660                  Runs/Wins: 9/5

A scratch bred filly from Knightmare Stables.  A nice filly who has already managed a couple of stakes victories over 11 furlongs so the distance shouldn’t hold too much fear for her.  This is a jump in class however so she may find herself pushed to the limit just to get in the money.

DAY OF TRIUMPH(AUS)

Ranking: 2

Trainer: scootboy

(Elvstroem (AUS) x Manila x Sadler’s Wells)

Odds:  9/1                   Earnings: 608,964                  Runs/Wins: 11/5

Winner:           G1-Sydney Oaks

A scratch bred filly from Scootboy Stables.  Ran a blinder to take the Sydney Oaks last time out and it will be hard to stop her repeating that feat here.  Lost to True Chant(KY) over 8.5 furlongs a while back, but this distance is a whole different ballgame. 

SOUTH OF HEAVEN(IRE)

Ranking: 4

Trainer: fastvett1

(High Chaparral (IRE) x Nureyev x Rahy)

Odds:  7/1                   Earnings: 443,810                  Runs/Wins: 11/4

Winner:           G1-How Are You Gentlemen Cup

A filly from Qwikvett Stables bred from an F class mare.  Strangely after her G1 victory this one was pitted against the boys for her last two big runs in The Sydney Derby (6^th on an off track) and The Caribbean (3^rd).  Although she put up a reasonable performance in both of those races back against the other girls she won’t find the this field any easier to crack.  

FAMOUS INDY(KY)

Ranking: 6

Trainer: peeps7

(A.P. Indy x Sadler’s Wells x Gone West)

Odds:  14/1                 Earnings: 209,620                  Runs/Wins: 6/3

A filly from Cobra Kai Racing Stables bred from an F class mare.  An inexperienced filly who put in an excellent performance to finish 2^nd in The Sydney Oaks.  Grass has certainly been kind to her but whether she can overturn the places with Pelennor Fields(KY) is questionable. 

BEST THERE IS(IRE)

Ranking: 13

Trainer: desperado5

(King’s Best(IRE) x Diesis(GB) x Sadler’s Wells)

Odds:  7/1                   Earnings: 315,770                  Runs/Wins: 9/4

A filly from Desperado Stables bred from a G class mare.  She’s been unfortunate to run 2^nd in both her G1 starts so far and will be looking to go one better here.  It will be a big increase in distance for her however so she may end up having to put this down to another learning experience. 

RODEO DRIVE(KY)

Ranking: 36

Trainer: twoofus2

(Bernardini x Giant’s Causeway (IRE) x Red Ransom)

Odds:  15/1                 Earnings: 115,218                  Runs/Wins: 8/3

A scratch bred filly from Twoofus Stables.  She just couldn’t seem to find the win in her early career on dirt but the switch to turf proved to be a revelation and she won 3 straight races.  Her performance in The Sydney Oaks however proved to be a disappointment, especially after winning comfortably over 11 furlongs on her previous outing, but even at her best she may have struggled to catch the winner there, so this race may be a couple of furlongs longer than her optimum distance.

PELENNOR FIELDS(KY)

Ranking: 1

Trainer: stormboot2

(Aragorn (IRE) x Galileo (IRE) x Nijinsky II)

Odds:  11/1                 Earnings: 326,295                  Runs/Wins: 10/6

Winner:           G1-Adelaide Oaks

A filly from Dixiedotco Racing bred from a G class mare.  A filly who is beginning to look pretty awesome over these longer distances having won her last 4 races.  She destroyed the field in Adelaide and looks in good enough form to repeat that feat here.

TRUE CHANT(KY)

Ranking: 11

Trainer: tgi

(War Chant x Miswaki x Seattle Slew)

Odds:  6/1                   Earnings: 561,980                  Runs/Wins: 12/4

Winner:           G1-The Warsaw Mile

A filly from Tgi Stables bred from a B class mare (True Slew Again).    The biggest question of the race to my mind is whether this filly will get the trip.  To me she looks a bit inconsistent over a mile and she definitely seemed to fade slightly in her last race over 9 furlongs so the signs don’t look too good.  However if she should come right here we may be seeing something a little special.

XTRA DYNAFORM(KY)

Ranking: 12

Trainer: ejdstable

(Dynaformer x Theatrical(IRE) x Irish River(FR))

Odds:  27/1                 Earnings: 405,835                  Runs/Wins: 10/3

Winner:           G1-Filly Grand Prix

A filly from Edjstable Stables bred from an H class mare.  Blew up badly in The Sydney Oaks and didn’t improve any on an off-track last time so any chance of her recreating her 2yo G1 success here seems very small indeed. It’s hard to see where her trainer should be aiming her in the future but I wouldn’t rule out a dirt run for her in the near future – preferably on a fast dirt track.

THE DARK MARK(IRE)

Ranking: 30

Trainer: sunshine87

(Montjeu (IRE) x Sharpen Up(GB) x Grey Dawn II)

Odds:  6/1                   Earnings: 249,070                  Runs/Wins: 7/3

A scratch bred filly from The Evil Empire.  Has put in a few good runs over a mile and now stretches out over this much longer distance.  Another big question mark hangs over her as failure here could give the trainer a real problem over what to do next.  She is pretty inexperienced however and has plenty of time to find her niche. 

FLAMMEN SEHEN(GER)

Ranking: 35

Trainer: reacher

(Monsun(GER) x In The Wings(GB) x Shirley Heights(GB))

Odds:  22/1                 Earnings: 115,894                  Runs/Wins: 7/4

A scratch bred filly from Given Stables: Fire and Blood.  Won her last two runs over 11 furlongs, albeit in fairly mediocre fields, so this distance shouldn’t be a problem for her.  I’m just worried that she may prove to be a bit one paced and may struggle to stay sufficiently close to the rest of the field to mount her challenge.  

VAANDA(KY)

Ranking: 18

Trainer: zoshka

(Hennessy x Alleged x Nashua)

Odds:  10/1                 Earnings: 147,137                  Runs/Wins: 10/3

A scratch bred filly from Rafa Stables.  Managed to snatch third place in The Adelaide Oaks but may find this field a lot more of a challenge.  She seems to be fairly flexible in terms of running style but if she doesn’t stay up with the pace in the early stages may find herself having lost before the halfway point is reached.   

POLYAMOROUS(JPN)

Ranking: 8

Trainer: mikejoyce

(Alkaased x Ela-Mana-Mou(IRE) x Pleasant Colony)

Odds:  9/1                   Earnings: 236,580                  Runs/Wins: 9/5

A scratch bred filly from Red Dirt Runners.  Third in The Sydney Oaks she simply couldn’t find the turn of speed she needed when it counted.  Failure here wouldn’t be too much of a disaster for her as she looks like she could be pretty special over a mile later in the season.

NOT LONG AGO(NZ)

Ranking: 25

Trainer: kaif011

(Jahafil (GB) x El Prado(IRE) x A.P. Indy)

Odds:  15/1                 Earnings: 328,775                  Runs/Wins: 13/4

A filly from Kaif Stables based on a G class horse.  Only managed to get 4^th in The Sydney Oaks but followed that up with a stakes success over 11 furlongs.  I can’t see her reversing the Sydney placing but I can certainly see her stretching out over even longer distances in the future with good results.

Summary

I’m going to stick with a winner of the big Oaks races and on this occasion plump for … Pelennor Fields(KY) who, despite her surprising long odds is in particularly good form at the moment.