O'Brien, Gosdens square off again in Epsom Oaks
Aidan O’Brien has won the last two editions of the Oaks, won three out of the last four, and a remarkable five times in the last seven years sent out the Oaks winner. He has four fillies in Friday’s renewal of the 242-year-old classic at Epsom, including a hot prospect named Tuesday.
Third in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and second behind an excellent performance from Homeless Songs in the Irish 1000 Guineas, Tuesday has yet to race beyond one mile, but on pedigree and style gives many indications Friday’s 1 1/2-mile trip will suit her.
Yet Tuesday is only a distant third choice behind two brilliant-looking fillies from the yard of co-trainers John and Thady Gosden. Father and son send out Nashwa, a daughter of Frankel who has shown an exhilarating turn of foot in her two 2022 races, both easy wins. But Team Gosden’s heavy hitter is Emily Upjohn, a filly named after a character in the Marx Brothers classic “A Day at the Races” who could turn Friday into her day to shine.
By Sea The Stars out of Hidden Brief, by Barathea, Emily Upjohn has drawn comparisons from John Gosden to Taghrooda, who won the 2014 Oaks by nearly four lengths. Taghrooda began a string of eight Oaks won either by Gosden, who landed the prize in 2017 with the great Enable and in 2019 with Anapurna, or O’Brien.
It takes a special young horse to navigate an early June 1 1/2-mile contest run over the tricky Epsom course, which is full of deep undulations and sharp turns, but Frankie Dettori should put Emily Upjohn in a forward position Friday and the filly is likely to take care of business.
Her flaw so far has been running too keenly in the early stages of her races, but Emily Upjohn eventually has relaxed for Dettori while showing a high cruising speed that keeps her out of trouble. The farther she runs, the stronger Emily Upjohn appears to get. At Sandown Park on April 22, racing over 1 1/4 miles, she faced admittedly modest competition but won by more than 12 lengths while giving her 11 rivals seven pounds. May 11, in the 1 5/16-mile Group 3 Musidora at York, Emily Upjohn ran into a talented Godolphin filly named Life of Dreams, but stormed through York’s long homestretch to win by nearly five lengths.
Nashwa, the mount of Hollie Doyle, also was difficult to settle in her 2022 debut, fighting for her head until Doyle snugged her mid-pack behind horses. That visually impressive romping win going one mile at Haydock Park was followed by the May 14 Fillies Trial Stakes over 1 1/4 miles at Newbury, and this time, Nashwa relaxed from the start, racing from last before displaying a sustained, impressive run to the wire.
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As for Tuesday, she nearly was caught for second in the Irish 1000 Guineas by her stablemate Concert Hall, who might turn out the better filly at a longer price Friday. Godolphin’s entry is With the Moonlight, a sharp winner of her 3-year-old debut, the May 4 Pretty Polly at Newmarket, the same race in which Taghrooda prepped for the Oaks.
Also carded Friday is the Group 1 Coronation Cup, another 1 1/2-mile race, this one for older horses. Heading the six-runner field are Pyledriver and Manobo, nearly the same price Wednesday in fixed-odds wagering with British bookmakers. Pyledriver finished 11th in the 2020 Derby, his first Epsom experience, but was a game winner of this race a year ago. Manobo, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, won his first five starts before not quite staying the two-mile Dubai Gold Cup on March 26 at Meydan. High Definition exits a career-best performance when narrowly beaten in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
The Epsom course on Wednesday was rated good to soft. First post for the card is 9 a.m. Eastern; the Coronation goes at 10:10, the Oaks at 11:30.