O’Brien has sights on 7th Irish Oaks

Horses for Courses

by Tom Red

There are nine fillies left in the Irish Oaks on Saturday headed by Aidan O’Brien’s English Oaks runner-up Savethelastdance, one of five he has in the race. Warm Heart, Be Happy, Lambada and Library make up the Ballydoyle quartet as O’Brien seeks his seventh win in this classic.

The other Irish entries Dermot Weld’s Azazat, Joseph O’Brien’s Luminere Rock and Jim Bolger’s Comhra and Ralph Beckett’s lightly raced raider Bluestocking completes the field. Savethelastdance’s Epsom run 1¾l behind Soul Sister coupled with her win in the Cheshire Oaks is by far the best form and she should win from stablemate Warm Heart winner of the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot where Luminere Rock finished second and Bluestocking third.

Weekend action…

Racing this evening (Thursday) sees the third day of the five-day Killarney festival, a national hunt card, at 5 pm and a flat card at Leopardstown, off at 4.45 pm.

Tomorrow (Friday) afternoon’s racing, a national hunt card at Killarney, closes the festival at 1.55 pm and in the evening at Kilbeggan, also featuring jump racing, away at 5.05 pm.

It is Oaks weekend at the Curragh with the racing on Saturday away at 1.30 pm, and the Group 2 Minstrel Stakes on Sunday with a 2 pm start.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, they race at Ballinrobe, on the level at 5 pm on Monday, and a national hunt card on Tuesday.

On Saturday, ITV are covering four races from Newbury, including the Group 3 Stakes, and three national hunt races from Market Rasen including the Summer Plate Handicap Chase. They are also covering the Irish Oaks from the Curragh. RTÉ 1 are covering racing from the Curragh on Saturday.

In the Midland National in Kilbeggan last Friday, Mouse Morris’s Foxy Jacks, ridden by Gavin Brouder, reversed Roscommon placings with Enda Bolger’s winner of Connaught National, Stealthy Tom, under Mark McDonagh. Virtually making all the running the winner won by 1¼l with Henry de Bromhead’s Life In The Park and Mike O’Connor third 14l further back.

De Bromhead had compensation completing an across the card treble on the day with Lucky Zebo winning the Beginners Chase with Rachael Blackmore, adding to Bojak and Great Bears’ wins at Cork in the afternoon, both ridden by Darragh O’Keeffe.

Racing News

Jockey Michael O’Sullivan lost his claim as Hardwired won the Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey Maiden Hurdle for Ted Walsh last Friday. O’Sullivan will now ride as a fully-fledged jockey at the Galway Festival starting Monday week hoping the loss of the 3lb claim will not affect him.

Shaquille won the July Cup for Julie Camacho and Rossa Ryan at Newbury on Saturday where Ballydoyle’s Little Big Bear in a rough race got caught in a sandwich and finished a disappointing last of the eight runners.

Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington, who holds entries for holds following races in Europe, York’s Juddmonte International, Leopardstown’s Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, has been given the surprise possibility of Melbourne’s Cox Plate by Coolmore’s Australian boss Tom Magnier. The Australian Group 1 race was won by O’Brien