Playful Act heads Irish Oaks

Playful Act can confirm her high promise in a competitive renewal of the $480,000 Irish Oaks at The Curragh on Sunday.

The 1 1/2-mile fillies classic comes at just the right time for Playful Act, a daughter of Sadler's Wells, who missed her intended dates in the 1000 Guineas and the English Oaks after failing to come to hand for trainer John Gosden until late spring. The impressive winner of the Group 1 Fillies Mile at Ascot last September, Playful Act returned to the races on July 2 at Haydock Park, where she narrowly beat older fillies in the 1 1/2-mile, Group 2 Lancashire Oaks. She will have improved from that effort and can carry Jimmy Fortune and the Sangster family's green and blue colors to victory.

Shawanda, the improving winner of the 1 1/2-mile, Group 3 Prix de Royaumont, is a very dangerous French invader.