Coronet can spring a surprise in Oaks
Aidan O’brien is 5-2 to land his third Investec Oaks-derby double, and while he has six chances and a certain strength in numbers in tomorrow’s second leg, his best chance in either Classic appears to be the 1,000 Guineas runner-up, Rhododendron, in today’s Oaks.
However, no horse, let alone one in a Classic, is particularly good value at odds-on at Epsom, and although her sire, Galileo, is a huge influence on stamina, the fact is that Rhododendron is fast, untried over further than a mile, and has a five-furlong King’s Stand winner as a grand-dam.
She may, of course, be the next Minding, as good over a mile as a mile and a half, but I believe John Gosden can win his second Oaks with Coronet, a 10-1 chance. A winner over 10 furlongs at two, she was beaten 4¾ lengths on soft ground by today’s rival, Sobetsu, in the Prix Saint-alary at Deauville last time. She gave the winner a 10-length start and flew down the outside to finish best of all. That was over a mile and a quarter, and the extra two furlongs today should favour her, as one expects she will be ridden closer to the leaders by Andrea Atzeni than she was by Frankie Dettori in France. She has reportedly been working well since.
Dettori’s mount, Enable, came on a lot for today’s trip in the Cheshire Oaks, when she beat Alluringly, and she, at least, can also be expected to get the trip well. Horseplay and Isabel De Urbina should not be ruled out lightly, having come to this race via the proven Pretty Polly Stakes route.
A total of 19 will go to post for tomorrow’s Investec Derby. The only withdrawal at the 48-hour stage was O’brien’s Finn Mccool, reducing the trainer to six runners. As expected, Ryan Moore will ride Cliffs Of Moher, the Dee Stakes winner. O’brien’s son Donnacha [Venice Beach] and daughter Ana [The Anvil] will become the first brother and sister to ride in the race.
Meanwhile, the Yorkshire yard of Kevin Ryan was put under a temporary quarantine order by the British Horseracing Authority yesterday after an outbreak of the potentially deadly equine herpes virus EHV-1 was confirmed. It could result in Ryan’s horses missing Royal Ascot.
Nearby yards of Bryan Smart and Michael Herrington were also put under the order, after their horses shared transport with Ryan’s.
The final race at Chelmsford last night was abandoned when a power cut turned off the floodlights. Clerk of the course Andy Waitt said: “We’re going to have to hold a fairly major investigation.”