Desert Flower and Lake Victoria Feature Among 47 Oaks Entries

[Wandering Eyes]

The entries for the Betfred Oaks were released on Tuesday, with 47 fillies in contention for the Classic which is due to take place at Epsom on Friday, June 6.

Aidan O'Brien is responsible for no fewer than 16 contenders as he bids for an 11th Oaks success, having won the race seven times since 2012 alone. His formidable squad is headed by the unbeaten Lake Victoria (Ire), who completed a hat-trick of top-level victories as a two-year-old when winning the Moyglare Stud Stakes, Cheveley Park Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

The daughter of Frankel (GB) is currently vying for favouritism in the sponsor's ante-post betting with the Charlie Appleby-trained Desert Flower (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who was last seen maintaining her unbeaten record with a fourth straight victory in the G1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket in October. Desert Flower is the 7/1 market leader as things stand, with Lake Victoria next best at 8/1.

O'Brien could also be represented by the fillies who filled the next three places behind Desert Flower at Newmarket, namely January (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), Ballet Slippers (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Dreamy (Ire) (American Pharoah) in that order, as well as another Group 1-placed filly in Exactly (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who finished third in both the Moyglare and the Prix Marcel Boussac. Of the other Ballydoyle contenders, Curragh maiden winner Giselle (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) is a 16/1 shot after signing off last season with a third-place finish behind stable-mate Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the G3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes at Leopardstown.

In total, 22 of the 47 entries are trained in Ireland, with Donnacha O'Brien's Falling Snow (Ire) (Justify) appealing as the pick of the rest at this stage. A daughter of the four-time Group 1 winner Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), she created an excellent impression when beating Ballet Slippers on her sole start as a two-year-old at the Curragh.

There hasn't been an Oaks winner from France since 1993 when Andre Fabre saddled Intrepidity (GB) (Sadler's Wells) to take the spoils. This year a pair of French-trained fillies have been given the option of lining up at Epsom, with Francis-Henri Graffard entering his G3 Prix Penelope heroine Tajlina (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Saint-Cloud debut winner Danara (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) featuring for Christopher Head.

As for the home team, Winter's Song (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) could join stable-mate Desert Flower in the line-up, having impressed when making a successful debut at Yarmouth on Saturday, while Ralph Beckett has the biggest group of entries outside of Ballydoyle. His nine-strong team includes the Listed Montrose Fillies' Stakes winner Smoken (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) and G3 Oh So Sharp Stakes runner-up Cathedral (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), as well as six once-raced winners with significant scope for improvement.

Those comments also apply to the three entries for John and Thady Gosden, namely Go Go Boots (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Sand Gazelle (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Star Of Light (GB) (Frankel {GB}). That trio were all winners on the all-weather during the winter, following a similar path to the stable's previous Oaks winners Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Anapurna (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

Wolverhampton winner Falakeyah (GB) (New Bay {GB}) is another exciting all-weather graduate for Owen Burrows, while chances of a royal winner at Epsom rest with wide-margin Kempton scorer Purple Rainbow (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}). She is one of three entries for William Haggas, with Alobayyah (GB) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) also deserving a mention after her debut romp at Yarmouth.

Quarter-Century of Coronation Cup Entries

Earlier on the Oaks card, the £450,000 G1 Coronation Cup sees 25 runners stand their ground at the latest entry stage led by six high class entries for the Coolmore partners and Aidan O'Brien.

Star stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), on a seven-race winning streak, would be trying a distance short of 1 3/4 miles for the first time since running fourth in the Listed Derby Trial to Third Realm (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in May of 2021. He is joined by G1 St Leger hero Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who ran unplaced in Dubai earlier this month; the 2024 St Leger one-two of Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G2 Prix Chaudenay hero Illinois (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and G1 Irish Derby scorer Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) among others.

Another Group 1 winner set to line up is Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who most recently ran third in the G2 Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia in February. He is trained by Aidan's son Joseph.

Leading the pair of French-trained runners is the late Aga Khan's Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) for Francis-Henri Graffard. The bay turned in a fine effort when second in last Saturday's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic; while Aventure (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was second in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for Christophe Ferland.

Charlie Appleby saddles a trio, with Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) coming back off a fourth in the Sheema Classic; and G1 Futurity Trophy Stakes hero Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) set for his 2025 bow.

Reliable yardstick and 2024 G1 Hong Kong Vase victor Giavellotto (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), one better than Rebel's Romance in the Sheema, is entered for trainer Marco Botti, while Group 1 winners White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) and Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) hold entries for John Joseph Murphy and David Menuisier, respectively.

G1 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes heroine Kalpana (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}) is one of several nominations for Andrew Balding, and last year's G1 Irish Oaks victress You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) has stood her ground for Ralph Beckett.

 

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