Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Snowfall turns up the heat
FILLY ROMPS TO OAKS DOUBLE
SNOWFALL enriched form book students over coincidence backers with an Irish Oaks demolition job in the searing heat.
After a 16-length supremacy on rain-softened ground in the Cazoo Oaks 43 day earlier, the Aidan O’Brien-trained daughter of Deep Impact started the 2-7 hotpot to become the 15th filly to complete the EpsomCurragh double.
And Ryan Moore’s mount duly galloped clear of stablemate
Divinely to score by eight-and-a-half lengths, with Nicest, representing O’Brien’s son Donnacha, claiming the last podium position in third.
Although able to win just once – a Curragh maiden – from seven attempts at two, Snowfall, winner of York’s Group 3 Musidora Stakes on her comeback, is now undefeated in three starts in her Classic season.
“She has a lot of quality,” said O’Brien, equalling Sir Michael Stoute’s record of six victories in the Juddmonte-sponsored fillies’ test.
“We let her down a little bit from Epsom – we were conscious to come here without overdoing her – because the season is going to roll on now.
“But she’d done very well physically from Epsom – she’s big and strong – and she finishes very well but she has plenty of class.
“I was very worried about the ground in Epsom – we always thought that fast ground was her thing.”
O’Brien will now ready Snowfall for the Darley Yorkshire Oaks on August 19 – she is a 4-6 chance to rack up a hat-trick of top-level successes.
A likely head-to-head with fellow Ballydoyle trainee Love
in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp on October 3 gives Moore (right) a selection headache.
Ladbrokes favour Snowfall (4-1) over her year-older stablecompanion Love (5-1), and Moore said of yesterday’s winner: “She’s been impressive in all her runs this year.
“She travelled very easily, got to the front very comfortably and did it well.
"You’d be very happy with what she did today.
“What she did at Epsom was unbelievable – and there’s no reason why she won’t carry on improving now.”
Rachael Blackmore is expected to be out of action for at least three months after breaking her ankle
– and an as-yet unspecified hip injury – in Friday’s horror fall at Killarney.
Blackmore, who became the first woman to win the Grand National when Minella Times triumphed at Aintree in April – 22 days after securing the Cheltenham Festival’s top jockey title – was taken to hospital when Merry Poppins came down in a handicap hurdle.