Top two in Irish Oaks stand out on class

Cayenne Pepper ran into the elite mare Magical in her most recent start, while Ennistymon hooked Love, who turned in an historically strong performance winning the Oaks at Epsom. The two fillies have one another with which to deal Saturday in the Group 1 Irish Oaks at The Curragh, but nothing like the beasts they encountered in their respective recent races.

As of Thursday, Cayenne Pepper was narrowly favored with British bookmakers over Ennistymon to win the 1 ½-mile Oaks, which drew eight entrants, half trained by Aidan O’Brien. O’Brien has been surprisingly quiet in this fixture, winning just two of the last 11 renewals. Ennistymon, by Galileo out of Lahinch, hasn’t yet won a group race of any sort but finished a fine second to Frankly Darling in the Group 2 Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot, reversing that decision when finishing three-quarters of a length in front of Frankly Darling in the Oaks. Neither filly proved any match for the O’Brien-trained Love, who had nearly vanished over the horizon line, winning by nine lengths, as Ennistymon beat Frankly Darling to the line.

Cayenne Pepper, so far, at least, is no Love, but she was a Group 3 winner last year at age 2 and prepped for the Irish Oaks with a fine showing against older rivals in the 1 1/4-mile Pretty Polly on June 28. Even getting 12 pounds, Cayenne Pepper could only come within 4 1/2 lengths of Magical, but she is one of the top five turf mares in the world. Jessica Harrington trains Cayenne Pepper, a daughter of Australia and the Elusive Quality mare Muwakaba, a pedigree offering hope, if no guarantee, she stays her first trip at 1 1/2 miles.

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O’Brien also sends out the Galileo filly Snow, who had a quiet two-start campaign in 2019 but has come alive this year at age 3. Snow won the Group 3 Munster Oaks over 1 1/2 miles at Cork last out and is out of the mare Chelsea Rose, who produced Kew Gardens, winner of the Group 1 St. Leger over about 1 3/4 miles and victorious over the great stayer Stradivarius in the 15 1/2-furlong British Long Distance Champions last fall. Snow might or might not be fast enough, but she will definitely run far enough.

Post time for the Irish Oaks, available for wagering and live streaming at DRFBets.com, is 2:15 p.m. Eastern. The Curragh card, featuring three other group stakes, starts at 11:15 Eastern.