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.

The lightly raced gelding Little Max is easy to like in a six-furlong handicap at Echuca Racecourse in Australia on Thursday, even with a tough draw.

Little Max has drawn the rail in a field of 13, which is likely to force jockey Billy Egan to use the 3-year-old’s speed to secure position in the early furlongs. Little Max has won with that style, leading throughout a six-furlong maiden race at Kyneton Racecourse last November in his final start of 2021.

Paul Lally:

R1 4-8-6-2
R2 2-5-3-8
R3 2-1-3-7
R4 5-3-6-9
R5 4-5-1-7
R6 1-7-3-10
R7 1-10-6-7
R8 9-3-11-1
R9 3-4-8-5

Best Bet R8 N9 Rising From Ashes
Longshot R6 N1 Prime Minister
Play R8 QQP 3-9-11

Andrew Le Jeune:

R1: 4-9-8-1
R2: 2-5-4-8
R3: 5-1-2-3
R4: 7-5-6-2
R5: 4-7-5-1
R6: 4-7-2-9
R7: 9-6-1-10
R8: 9-11-10-3
R9: 8-3-2-5

Best: R1 N4 Red Impact
Each/way: R7 N9 Infinity Win
Play: R7 Q/QP R7 1-6-9

Filed away in the department of "Where Did That Come From" is Nimble Nimbus’s win in the third race on May 11 at Happy Valley Racecourse.  

A solid if unspectacular participant in Class 4 handicaps from the start of his Hong Kong career last season, Nimble Nimbus jumped up and won at that class level by a whopping five lengths. The gelding got a great inside trip and raced over a yielding course, but that might not have entirely accounted for the breakthrough.

Horrifying, the 4-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding, finished fifth in the Group 1 Queensland Derby in Australia at 1 1/2 miles in May 2021 in his first start at the distance. His second attempt at 1 1/2 miles occurs in a handicap at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne on Wednesday.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, June 01, 2022)

Torquator Tasso, who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to end his 2021 campaign, began his 2022 season finishing sixth of seven in the Group 2 Grosser Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft on Sunday at Baden-Baden in Germany.

The opening quarter-mile of a handicap for fillies and mares at 5 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury Racecourse in Australia on Tuesday may take a taxing toll on expected pacesetters Decisive Move and Kyalla.

They are expected to dominate the betting in a field of eight. Should one of them shake free, the race may be over. If the pace is too hot, a mare such as Honeysuckle Choice could be ideally placed from a tracking position.

The Australian filly Outlook beat maidens in a one-mile race in April 2021. By the end of the year, she had two more wins in races at 1 3/8 miles.

The same pattern may emerge this year in a quicker fashion. After finishing third and second in races at a mile and 1 1/16 miles in April and May, Outlook will start at 1 3/8 miles for the first time since last year in a handicap at Doomben Racecourse near Brisbane on Monday.

Tom Wood:

R1: 4-1-9-2

R2: 5-8-9-1

R3: 1-10-8-2

R4: 11-1-3-8
R5: 7-6-10-4

R6: 8-10-1-2

R7: 6-4-7-2             

R8: 4-3-6-1

R9: 8-14-4-5

R10: 8-1-3-7

BEST: R7 N6 BEAUTY JOY (WIN) 

VALUE: R10 N8 CALIFORNIA RAD  

PLAY: R10 QQP 1,3,8

Paul Lally: 

R1 1-4-9-2

R2 9-4-1-10

R3 1-8-10-2

R4 1-8-2-11

R5 4-7-6-1

R6 10-1-9-8

R7 6-8-9-2

R8 7-4-1-3

R9 8-14-1-4

R10 4-2-3-8