Our form expert has three selections for Betfred Oaks day at Epsom on Friday including in the Classic itself and a couple in the handicaps.
The Verdict: Friday, May 31
1pts e.w. Autumn Festival in 2.35 Epsom at 66/1 (Coral 1/5 1,2,3,4,5) – 50/1 General
1pt e.w. Killybegs Warrior in 3.45 Epsom at 25/1 (Coral 1/5 1,2,3,4) – 20/1 General
1pt e.w. Forest Fairy in 4.30 Epsom at 15/2 (General 1/5 1,2,3)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook
Forest to fire in Oaks for Beckett
It’s Betfred Oaks day at Epsom on Friday and you have to go back to 2013 for the last time Aidan O’Brien or John Gosden didn’t win the fillies’ Classic.
Gosden hasn’t found a representative this year, so it’s no surprise to see O’Brien train the first two in the market with Ylang Ylang and Rubies Are Red. Ylang Ylang looks the most likely winner, her staying-on fifth in the 1000 Guineas a lovely trial for the Oaks and the form is already working out, while the juice in the ground and the step up in trip are both likely to see this daughter of Frankel in a good light.
However, she’s not miles clear of these by any means and the man who last won the Oaks other than Gosden and O’Brien, Ralph Beckett, unearthed a handful of possibles for this race amongst the trials and he runs a quartet of them here.
All warrant respect, but with rain in the week ensuring ground on the soft side for Oaks day, preference is for his first string FOREST FAIRY, who is expected to come on a bundle for her Cheshire Oaks win just over three weeks ago.
This filly only made her debut on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in February, where she bolted up by six lengths, and that set her up for her first turf run at Chester where she travelled well before belying her inexperience to come through a tight gap and knuckle down for a gutsy victory.
The bare form of that race wouldn’t be good enough to win even an average Oaks, but she shaped as if she will have learnt loads from the experience and significant improvement is expected. Even on that form she holds Rubies Are Red on a line through Galileo Dame.
On the Chester evidence her attitude is not in question, while the softer ground looks in her favour being by Waldgeist out of a Lope De Vega mare with the knee action of a filly that will relish softer ground.
She was the trial winner with the most potential about her granted the right conditions and with those in place, plus the good support for the Irish trio at the top of the betting, we’re getting a fair each-way price about her.
The Verdict: Back FOREST FAIRY in the 4.30 Epsom
Festival looks a huge price at 66/1
In the Trustatrader Handicap over the extended mile at 2.35 I think it’s worth having an each-way bet on outsider AUTUMN FESTIVAL for Ed de Giles.
This doesn’t look a handicap that is littered with unexposed types and plenty will come down to how this is run, with the selection expected to be ridden to lead, or at least be prominent, from stall 14 by Benoit De La Sayette.
The son of Poet’s Voice is an in and out character, but he looks well capable of running a big race from a mark of 89 given he has won off 82, 84 and 88, while he arguably ran a career-best when a close-up third off 90 in the Thirsk Hunt Cup just two starts ago.
That was on good to soft ground and he loves a bit of cut, his career form figures on soft or heavy ground reading 11431202.
De La Sayette has a fine record over this course and distance, winning from prominent positions twice on New Pursuit and once on Bear On The Loose, while Poet’s Voice progeny go well at Epsom over this distance too, as advertised by course specialist Arigato and a former winner of this race, G K Chesterton.
You have to forgive him a poor run at Newbury last time, but a straight track like that is not his bag and his good form at turning left-handed courses like Thirsk and Chepstow offer great hope that he’ll take to Epsom.
The Verdict: Back AUTUMN FESTIVAL in the 2.35 Epsom
Killybegs can show Warrior spirit
Finally, I’m backing Charlie Johnston’s KILLYBEGS WARRIOR to bounce back to his best in the Betfred Nifty 50 Handicap.
He hasn’t been cut much slack by the handicapper since winning a traditionally hot Newmarket handicap at the July meeting last summer off 99, but he has run some good races in defeat subsequently.
They include an excellent reappearance third at Kempton in April where he dictated the pace and his good sixth in the Suffolk Stakes at the Guineas meeting, where he was second home from the horses he raced with towards the stands’ side.
A 7lb pull with the winner, Liberty Lane, can help him be more competitive with that horse and beaten horses in the Suffolk Stakes include two recent winners of this race; Farraaj and Cadillac.
He wasn’t suited by taking a lead at Chester last time, but at least he came down a couple of pounds and if he can get into a nice rhythm on the front end, he could be difficult to kick out of the frame.
The Verdict: Back KILLYBEGS WARRIOR in the 3.45 Epsom
Preview posted at 1430 BST on 30/05/24
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