Epsom’s Derby Festival kicks off on Friday and Day One’s feature race is the Oaks. The historic race is one of the best on the Flat racing calendar and everyone wants their name on the trophy.
Run over the same course and distance as the Derby, it’s the second Classic of the season for fillies and recent history suggests that Aidan O’Brien and John Gosden have a bit of a stranglehold on the race, having won nine of the last 10 renewals between them. A thoroughly competitive field of nine has been declared for the race so our expert has gone through it with a fine-tooth comb and picked out their two strongest fancies to follow.
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Epsom Oaks Runners and odds
- Desert Flower @ 6/4
- Minnie Hauk @ 5/1
- Whirl @ 6/1
- Giselle @ 8/1
- Revoir @ 11/1
- Elwateen @ 12/1
- Wemightakedlongway @ 16/1
- Qilin Queen @ 33/1
- Go Go Boots @ 40/1
Odds last updated 6th June @ 9.40am
Epsom Oaks Betting Tips
Appleby and O’Brien lock horns
Nine runners means it certainly isn’t the busiest of renewals, but there’s plenty of quality amongst the field and all the fillies have earned their places in the line-up.
Appleby’s 1000 Guineas winner Desert Flower heads the market and she’ll probably need to defy her pedigree in order to come out on top and earn her trainer a first win in the races. Obviously she has the class however and it would be unwise to rule her out.
O’Brien runs three in the race, all of which have a more than reasonable chance, but Giselle is the one that probably has the most to find. She was an impressive winner of the Lingfield Oaks Trial but only beat two average fillies, although her trainer has indicated that she’ll come on significantly.
Revoir looked a little green when second to Qilin Queen in a Listed trial at Newbury last time out and they are closely matched, so the price difference is probably a bit silly with that in mind. Go Go Boots has plenty to find and Wemightakedlongway’s form could be a little stronger.
Whirl could have them all in a spin
Jockey bookings might suggest that WHIRL is the second or third string here, but her dominant display in the Musidora last time out suggests she’s arguably Ballydoyle’s best chance of a winner. O’Brien has won the Oaks six times in the last 10 years, but it’s not always the first choice filly that wins it.
She took a while to get going as a two-year-old but got off the mark in a good maiden at Doncaster, before following up in a Group 3 over a mile at the Curragh. Giselle was behind her that day and has a bit to find if she wants to reverse that form.
You can put a line through her below-par effort over a mile on seasonal debut as it’s obvious that she was nowhere near fit enough on the day. The daughter of Wootton Bassett was very strong at the finish when destroying them in the Musidora last time and should thrive over 1m4f on that evidence.
- Epsom Oaks Betting Tip 1: Selection – Whirl @ 6/1 with BetMGM
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Minnie Hauk is a likely improver
MINNIE HAUK was actually behind Wemightakedlongway on debut at Cork in October. It took a while for the penny to drop but she stuck to her task well, finishing comfortably clear of third.
Disputing the lead for the entire race at Leopardstown next time, out she managed to get off the mark at the second time of asking.
Middle distances were always going to be her cup of tea, however, so it’s no surprise that she thrived over an extended 1m3f in the Cheshire Oaks on seasonal debut. Ryan Moore rode her confidently throughout and she stayed on well to score by a length.
Connections were a little surprised after the race as she hadn’t done much work beforehand and with that in mind, we can expect significant improvement here. Still very lightly raced, she’s learning on the job and it’s telling that Ryan Moore has picked her.
Epsom Oaks Betting Tip 2: Selection – Next Best: Minnie Hauk @ 5/1 with bet365
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