By Tom Frary
It might not have resembled a Classic on paper, but Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at least produced a stirring finish as Minnie Hauk (Frankel) overwhelmed her only serious rival Wemightakedlongway (Australia). Giving the impression as she had at Epsom that she does only just enough, the 2-11 favourite had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over the Oaks fourth, with Ballydoyle's pacemaker Island Hopping (Wootton Bassett) 2 1/2 lengths back in third.
“She wasn't doing a whole lot–I just had to wake her up to get past Dylan [Browne McMonagle], a little bit like at the Oaks at Epsom,” Ryan Moore explained. “She's quite deceptive. She's become more professional and at least we've learned a little bit more about her today. When she got to the front at Epsom, she went asleep on me like at Chester and she'll be better than this. She has the pedigree to go on.”
Aidan O'Brien added, “She's one of those fillies that you're probably never going to see at her best until the tempo is very strong and very high. She cruises through her races. The boss asked Ryan where to go with her and he said to go to the Yorkshire Oaks, but he also said we could give her a break and train her for the Vermeille and give her a French Arc prep, so all those things are open.”
“I think she can do either of those things, but if she's going to the French trial she'd have to have a couple of easy weeks,” he continued. “She had a very easy race today, I'd say. The tempo wasn't very strong so she should come out of it well. Looking at her, she'd probably love York. She has a big stride and it's a flat track too. Obviously the boss will decide with Derek and Michael.”
Dylan Browne McMonagle said of the runner-up, “She's improved and the track suited her better than Epsom. She ran a cracker and is improving all the time–she gets that trip well and is very straightforward.”
So tough. So good …
Wemightakedlongway was ultra-game, but becomes the 16th filly to complete the English/Irish Oaks double ⭐️⭐️ pic.twitter.com/5hYw6Scbe3
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 19, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Minnie Hauk, who was the €1.85million Goffs Orby Book 1 topper, is out of Multilingual (Dansili) whose dual-winning son Tilsit (First Defence) was also second in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan. She is a full-sister to the G3 Tercentenary Stakes winner Remote and a half to the brilliant miler and sire Kingman as well as Frankel's G3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes-placed First Eleven.
The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-winning second dam Zenda (Zamindar) is a half to the high-class sprinter and proven sire Oasis Dream, while the third dam Hope (Dancing Brave) is a full-sister to the G1 Irish Oaks winner Wemyss Bight, in turn the dam of the four-times top-level winner Beat Hollow. Multilingual's two-year-old filly by No Nay Never is named Voice Coach, while she also has a filly foal by Justify.
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