G1 Betfred Oaks

Shapoor Mistry's Thundering On (Frankel) has been rated 124 by Timeform for her G1 Betfred Oaks victory on Friday. The rating is on par with 2004 Oaks heroine Ouija Board (Cape Cross), with only Enable (Nathaniel) and Sariska (Pivotal)--both rated 125--rated higher this century. Timeform's Rory King, said, "We're in a high-class era of middle-distance horses in Europe, and Thundering On has put herself on the fringes of the top echelon of them with her really impressive success in the Betfred Oaks. "It's possible to pick holes in the form,...

Saturday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, THE BETFRED DERBY-G1, £2,000,000, 3yo, c/f, 12f 6yT Field: Action (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Alderman (GB) (Study Of Man {GB}), Ancient Egypt (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), A Taste Of Glory (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), Balzac (Ger) (Japan {GB}), Bay Of Brilliance (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Benvenuto Cellini (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Christmas Day (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Item (GB) (Frankel {GB}), James J Braddock (GB) (Zarak {Fr}), Maltese Cross (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Pierre Bonnard (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Poker (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Rebel Rocker (GB) (Cityscape...

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...

Unless Thundering On can oblige for Joseph O'Brien, or perhaps Venetian Lace for Charlie Johnston, then there will be a familar name on the trophy for the 2026 Betfred Oaks, with three trainers who each have previous in the Epsom Classic being responsible for the remaining seven runners between them. Aidan O'Brien is triple-handed in his quest for a remarkable 12th Oaks victory, likewise Ralph Beckett, who struck first with Look Here in 2008 and then Talent in 2013. More recently, O'Brien and the Gosdens have dominated, with all but...

Saturday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, THE BETFRED DERBY-G1, £2,000,000, 3yo, c/f, 12f 6yT Field: Action (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Alderman (GB) (Study Of Man {GB}), Ancient Egypt (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), A Taste Of Glory (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), Balzac (Ger) (Japan {GB}), Bay Of Brilliance (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Benvenuto Cellini (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Christmas Day (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Item (GB) (Frankel {GB}), James J Braddock (GB) (Zarak {Fr}), Maltese Cross (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Pierre Bonnard (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Poker (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Rebel Rocker (GB) (Cityscape...

Declarations for Epsom's G1 Betfred Derby and G1 Betfred Oaks were confirmed Wednesday morning with 14 standing their ground for Saturday's Blue Riband and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) the only notable absentee from Friday's Oaks. Last month's G3 Chester Vase winner Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) is joined by Aidan O'Brien stablemates Action (Frankel), Christmas Day (Camelot) and Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) as the trainer seeks to enhance his record haul of 11 in the Derby. Other leading contenders Ancient Egypt (Frankel), Bay Of Brilliance (New Bay), Maltese Cross (Sea...

Aidan O'Brien holds a strong hand for Friday's G1 Betfred Oaks, as Precise (Starspangledbanner) and Amelia Earhart (Camelot) are two of a dozen fillies remaining at the latest entry stage. Besides the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine and the Listed Chesire Oaks victress, O'Brien also fields Lingfield trial winner Cameo (Wootton Bassett), Beautify (Wootton Bassett), and Sugar Island (Dubawi). John and Thady Gosden will saddle G3 Musidora Stakes scorer Legacy Link (Dubawi). Gosden senior said on Saturday, "They're a good bunch of fillies and it looks like it's an exciting...

Listed heroine Jennifer Jane (New Bay) will not contest the G1 Betfred Oaks on June 5, and instead be pointed toward the Italian version later that month, according to Charlie Johnston. The Russell Trew and Towbraccan runner won at Wetherby last June before running second in the Listed Star Stakes in July. After a fruitless run in the G3 Prestige Fillies' Stakes in August, she was given a break. Making her three-year-old bow in the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month, she made all the running to...

Former G1 Betfred Oaks favourite I'm The One (Sea The Stars) will not compete in the Epsom Classic, according to John and Thady Gosden. The Cayton Park Stud colourbearer won her Newbury debut and was second in the Listed Cheshire Oaks to the Coolmore partners' Amelia Earhart (Camelot) earlier this month. John Gosden said of the 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', "I spoke to the owner this morning. We're a little bit unhappy, just a little bit concerned about her since the race and it just hasn't come right....

There was a Guineas-Oaks double on the line in Friday's Betfred-sponsored Classic, but in truth Desert Flower never really featured as Ballydoyle's Epsom stranglehold tightened further. From the start, the stable's number one Minnie Hauk followed stablemate Whirl around and from over two out it was that pair who dominated, coming home in isolation to complete another successful assault by Rosegreen on the fillies' monument. An astonishing 11th in this particular race. Frankel's Minnie Hauk, who was a headline act from the first sight of her in public at the...

Friday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, BETFRED OAKS-G1, £573,150, 3yo, f, 12f 6yT Field: Desert Flower (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Elwateen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Giselle (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Go Go Boots (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Minnie Hauk (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Qilin Queen (Ire) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Revoir (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Wemightakedlongway (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). TDN Verdict: Desert Flower has possibly stronger credentials than stablemate Ruling Court for getting the Newmarket-Epsom Classic double done and she has proven time and again that she...

Now that the line-ups have been confirmed for the Derby and Oaks, the wait has become one of merely hours for connections and fans of the protagonists alike. An intense period of final planning and preparation, of intermittent reverie. With the current century a quarter of the way though its course, there is little sign that the Epsom Classics have lost any of their draw for the big operations and the lists assembled for Friday and Saturday's Betfred-sponsored tests are testament to that. Since 2000, overseas interests--mainly Irish--have held sway...