Dettori hoping ‘Catcher’ can star in Irish Oaks

HE may have been out of luck on his first visit to Killarney on Wednesday but Frankie Dettori will be hoping for Group One compensation with Star Catcher in tomorrow’s Kerrygold Irish Oaks at the Curragh.

John Gosden’s filly was supplemented for the €400,000 classic earlier this week – at a cost of €40,000 – and while the flamboyant Italian jockey knows the competition is stiff, he “can’t wait” to get aboard the Ribblesdale Stakes heroine again.

“She’s got to take on the very best now. She won her Group Two at Ascot but classics are very hard to win. We’ll be trying our very best. Her home work has always been good and Ascot wasn’t a surprise to us,” four-time

Oaks winner Dettori said.

“She has taken a good step forward every time she ran. She’ll have to do that again to feature in the finish but at the moment all the home work has been very good and I can’t wait to get back to the Curragh again.”

Joseph O’Brien’s Iridessa – winner of the Pretty Polly on her last start – heads the Irish team as she steps up to 12 furlongs, while his father Aidan is represented by Epsom Oaks second and third, Pink Dogwood and Fleeting, as well as Peach Tree.

Meanwhile, the AXA Smart Farm Insurance Midlands National (8.15) – the highlight of Kilbeggan’s season – is tonight’s feature where Gordon Elliott trains over half of the field and sends a staggering eight runners in search of the €100,000 pot.

It’s hard to decide between his charges but Timiyan might be eachway value off bottom-weight in the hands of Mark ‘Fish’ Enright, who teamed up with the Meath trainer to land the Galway Plate last year.