'It Was Effortless': Oaks Glory For McMonagle And Thundering On

Friday's G1 Betfred Oaks looked a competitive renewal beforehand, but in the end it was Shapoor Mistry's homebred Thundering On (Frankel) who held sway in a show of dominance. Sweeping from last to first with Dylan Browne McMonagle ice-cool careering towards his first Classic success, the well-backed 5-1 shot brushed aside Legacy Link (Dubawi) to win by 3 3/4 lengths.

“It was effortless, she's so, so talented,” the rider said of the winner who had only been breaking her maiden last month in the Salsabil. “We were coming into the race very confident, she's been doing everything so easy and there was never a moment's doubt really.”

By chance, the daughter of the ill-fated Pretty Polly heroine Thundering Nights (Night Of Thunder) was beaten twice at two by Ballydoyle fillies who would re-oppose here in Cameo (Wootton Bassett) and Sugar Island (Dubawi) but as the market support in the lead-up suggested she came here a radically-transformed character.

It is rare that an Oaks winner is seen tanking between peers with the race at her mercy halfway up the straight, but that is what greeted the Epsom faithful this time and once McMonagle flicked the switch she swamped Legacy Link inside the final furlong. Juddmonte's blueblood was in turn six lengths clear of the pace-setting Sugar Island in third as the 7-4 favourite Amelia Earhart (Camelot) trailed in sixth.

Joseph O'Brien, who has the live prospect of a Derby-Oaks double with the leading contender James J Braddock (Zarak) on Saturday, was enjoying a first Epsom Classic as a trainer and a first Oaks as a trainer and rider. “It was an easy watch,” he said. “The objective was to save as much energy as we could, as the distance was the question mark and Dylan gave her a fantastic ride. She's a special filly–she cruised through the race and was hugely impressive. I think we ended up one spot further back than we wanted, but once she switched off good through the first half mile I was happy enough.”

“You couldn't have expected her to cruise up the straight like that and I'm looking forward to watching the replay,” he added. “She races for special people as well and Thundering Nights was a special filly as well, so for this filly as her only foal to win the Oaks is fairytale stuff. I guess the Irish Oaks is the obvious next race, but she'll have no problem going back to ten. The first idea was probably the Prix de Diane, but given the way she was training, Shapoor and Pallon and Anthony Stroud were very keen to come to Epsom and I'm very glad I did.”

This was also a fourth Oaks for Frankel, who accounts for 50 per cent of the winners since 2019, and arguably his most impressive over Anapurna, Soul Sister and Minnie Hauk. For the 23-year-old McMonagle, it was a chance to showcase not only his mount's superior class but also his own prowess in a high-pressure situation.

“It's unbelievable, this is what we all dream of doing,” he said of the winner, who was the only runner to dip under 12 seconds in the final furlong demonstrating how much she had in the engine. “That was unreal, so smooth the whole way through. She travelled like a dream, she handled the course and she got the distance. It was push-button stuff. If I'd pushed the button a bit earlier, she'd have won by even further. When I gave her the office, she just sprinted away.”

“I always had everything covered in front and it was a case of slowing her down from the two. She's got a lot of class and she was as impressive as any horse you'd see. It's a great training performance from Joseph, everybody does a great job at home and I'm very lucky to be getting my leg across. The sky's the limit for her now and she can go wherever she wants.”

Legacy Link's trainer John Gosden said, “The winner came here with a big reputation after her good win the other day and she's a Frankel filly. They were well clear of the rest and Legacy Link has run an absolute blinder. We are delighted with her run, but she ran into one who was too good for her on this ground on the day. There were a lot of disappointments in the race and it was a strung-out field.”

Colin Keane added, “She got to the two well and I thought she picked up well, but then I saw this chestnut filly coming by me very easily. I don't think it was lack of stamina. In other years we'd have been a good winner. I think we just bumped into a classy filly.”

Aidan O'Brien said, “Sugar Island ran well. We knew she handles soft ground and they went steady enough, so it probably suited her to be where she was. Ryan said he maybe had to commit a little bit early on Amelia Earhart, but she ran a good race and we think she'll come forward from the run. She probably likes faster ground, but she won in soft ground last year.”

Wow. Wow. Wow!

brilliantly wins the Betfred Oaks at Epsom pic.twitter.com/3ev8KpXbjH

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 5, 2026

Pedigree Notes
As mentioned by her trainer, Thundering On is the only foal produced by Thundering Nights, who aside from winning the Pretty Polly also took the Snow Fairy and was placed in the New York Stakes and Prix Jean Romanet. The fourth dam is the Nell Gwyn winner and Prix Vermeille runner-up Cloud Castle (In The Wings), whose Group-winning daughter Queen's Best (King's Best) was responsible for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Queen's Trust (Dansili).

This is also the family of the triple Grade I winner Domestic Spending (Kingman), the Group 1 performers Luso (Salse) and Needle Gun (Sure Blade) and their half-brother Warrsan (Caerleon) whose four Group 1 wins included two renewals of this meeting's Coronation Cup.

Friday, Epsom, Britain
BETFRED OAKS-G1, £625,000, Epsom, 6-5, 3yo, f, 12f 6yT, 2:39.64, g/s.
1–THUNDERING ON (GB), 128, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
                1st Dam: Thundering Nights (Ire) (G1SW-Ire, G1SP-Fr & GSP-US), by Night Of Thunder (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Cape Castle (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Kaabari, by Seeking The Gold
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Shapoor Mistry; T-Joseph O'Brien; J-Dylan Browne McMonagle. £354,438. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-0, $542,097. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Legacy Link (GB), 128, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Chiasma (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd; T-John & Thady Gosden. £134,375.
3–Sugar Island (Ire), 128, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Heaven On Earth (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Westerberg, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Westerberg; T-Aidan O'Brien. £67,250.
Margins: 3 3/4, 6, HD. Odds: 5.00, 3.00, 25.00.
Also Ran: A La Prochaine (Fr), Cameo (Ire), Amelia Earhart (Ire), On Message (GB), K Sarra (GB), Venetian Lace (Ire).