O’Brien Not Short On Oaks Contenders

[Wandering Eyes]

Epsom Racecourse has unveiled the entries for the two Group 1 races run on the eve of the G1 Investec Epsom Derby June 1. The G1 Investec Oaks has 60 nominations with Aidan O’Brien responsible for an amazing 23 of the fillies entered. These include the likes of Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Clemmie (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), among others. One trainer however who will be keen to get his hands on the Oaks trophy is Frenchman Francis-Henri Graffard who has entered his once raced Homerique (Exchange Rate). This filly only made her racecourse debut when winning a maiden at Chantilly last week but such was the authority of her victory that Graffard has given her a Classic entry. “Homerique has come out of Chantilly really well,” he said. “The plan is to run her next in the [G3] Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud on May 1, and we have made an entry for the Investec Oaks just to keep all options open for her. I think she is a better filly on good ground and I was quite surprised by the way she won at Chantilly. I knew she was a good filly, but I was not expecting her to win as she did on the ground because it was very soft,” he explained.

The entries have also been released for the G1 Investec Coronation Cup and while both Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) feature in the 25 strong list it is unlikely the much anticipated clash between the two stable-mates will materialise until later in the season, though John Gosden did hint recently that the Coronation Cup could be used to kick-start Enable’s 4-year-old campaign.

 

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