Race Day Betting: Investec Oaks

Several of today’s Oaks contenders performed well in the preparatory races, be it Talent in the Pretty Polly Stakes, Moth in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, or Secret Gesture in the Oaks Trial Stakes. There is clearly a lot of potential in a number of runners, making them hard to rule out.

Secret Gesture has the highest rating in the race but looks very short at 9/4, given the potential of her rivals and the poor strike rate of favourites in the race in recent years (3 winning favourites in last 10 runnings, including one joint-favourite; 1 winning favourite in last 5 runnings).

The selection is Banoffee, trained by Hughie Morrison. The filly was supplemented for the race at a cost of £30,000 after winning the Cheshire Oaks round the curves at Chester. She came from off the pace to win well, suggesting she will handle the Oaks' course and distance.

Jockey Kieren Fallon rode her at Chester and he is aboard again for the Oaks and this is another point in Banoffee’s favour. Fallon rides the Epsom course well and has three Derby and four Oaks victories on his record. Fallon has no scheduled ride in tomorrow’s Derby, indeed Banoffee is his only ride across the entire Derby meeting. I believe Fallon will be keen to show his abilities on the big stage.

Banoffee is available at 10/1 with William Hill.

Racing Preview: Investec Oaks

The Epsom Oaks is a Group 1 race for 3yo fillies and is the third Classic race of the Flat season. Recent runnings of the race have seen some big-priced winners – the last two Oaks heroines have been returned at 20/1.

Trainer Ralph Beckett’s Look Here was another outsider to win the Oaks, victorious at 33/1 in 2008, but he has a much more fancied contender for the 2013 event in Secret Gesture. The Galileo-sired filly finished second in her first maiden race last October. Later that same month she won her second maiden race before returning this season and running out an easy 10-length winner of the Oaks Trial Stakes at Lingfield Park earlier in May.

Another fancied Galileo filly is Moth for Aidan O’Brien, who finished third to Sky Lantern in the Qipco 1000 Guineas. She travelled towards the rear of the field for much of the race but finished the mile very strongly to take third place, despite encountering some minor interference. The extra four furlongs in the Oaks could well benefit O’Brien’s filly.

Banoffee is unbeaten in two races and won the Listed Cheshire Oaks over one mile three furlongs round Chester in early May. As such, the Epsom Oaks’ distance should be no issue and she seemed to handle the cornering round the Roodee satisfactorily.

Ralph Beckett has a strong second contender in the race in the form of Talent. By New Approach, Talent won the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket in May, which is a recognised trial for the Epsom Oaks. There is an interesting line of form from the Pretty Polly with William Haggas’s Lady Nouf. Talent beat Lady Nouf by half a length in the Pretty Polly. Lady Nouf had previously beaten Secret Gesture by a length in the Leicester maiden in which Secret Gesture had made her racecourse debut.

Newmarket Qipco Guineas Meeting Review

The firm ground ensured some fast times were recorded by several winners over the two days of the Qipco Guineas meeting at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course.

Sole Power (7/2 jf), trained by Edward Lynam, powered to a time of 57 seconds for the five furlongs in the Group 3 Pearl Bloodstock Palace House Stakes.

Kevin Ryan’s Hamza (5/1 jf) was simply too quick for his rivals in the six furlong Harbour Watch Handicap and he made every yard of the running under Neil Callan to win by 2 ¾ lengths in a time of 1 minute 10 seconds.

The trainer was also delighted by the run of Glory Awaits, who finished second at 150/1 in the Qipco 2000 Guineas.

There was a celestial connection in the names of the Guineas winners with Dawn Approach (Jim Bolger) winning the 2000 Guineas and Sky Lantern (Richard Hannon) the 1000 Guineas. Sky Lantern’s victory gave jockey Richard Hughes with his first British Classic winner.

Aidan O’Brien’s Moth finished third in the 1000 Guineas, showing on the racecourse some of the potential connections knew she had. As a result, the Galileo filly is now just 7/2 for the Epsom Oaks at the end of May.

Mark Johnston’s Windhoek looks a fine horse and is now unbeaten in three races after taking the Listed Qatar Racing Newmarket Stakes. The colt was successful in the 200,000 Tattersalls Millions 3-Y-O Trophy over the same course and distance in April. The colt holds an entry for the Betfred Dante Stakes at York in a couple of weeks, as well as for the King Edward VII Stakes (Royal Ascot) and Sandown's Coral-Eclipse in July.

The appropriately named Talent won the Pretty Polly Stakes for fillies. Ralph Beckett’s filly is sired by New Approach and could certainly be one to follow during the season. She holds entries in the Epsom Oaks (Group 1), the Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2 ) at Royal Ascot, and the Irish Oaks (Group 1).

Sky Lantern Lands The 1000 Guineas

Sky Lantern (9/1) came from off the pace to win the Qipco 1000 Guineas, taking the prize from Just The Judge on the line.

The filly made up for the disappointment of the Hannon stable after the poor showing of Toronado in the 2000 Guineas on Saturday.

Jockey Richard Hughes, riding his first British Classic winner, delivered his mount with a well-timed ride to collar Just The Judge (7/1) by half a length. Aidan O'Brien's Moth (9/1), supplemented for the race last week, finished in third place.

Sir Henry Cecil's Hot Snap (5/2f) never really featured in the race and looked under pressure from some way out.

Jockey Jamie Spencer had a 'nearly' weekend, finishing runner-up in both the 2000 and 1000 Guineas on Glory Awaits (150/1) and Just The Judge (7/1).