Key Race at Curragh this Saturday: Juddmonte Irish Oaks (Group 1)
Ahead of one of the highlights of the European Flat racing calendar on Saturday, CopyBet is offering the Overnight Best Odds Guaranteed promotion for the Juddmonte Irish Oaks and previews the horses set to make the headlines in the race.
Juddmonte Irish Oaks (Group 1) – Curragh
The Juddmonte Irish Oaks (Group 1), contested over 1 mile 4 furlongs, (2,414 metres) on turf is Ireland's premier Classic for three-year-old fillies among Europe's most prestigious middle-distance events for fillies, with a winner's prize worth around €290,000 in recent renewals.
Thundering OnAmong this year's leading contenders is a three-year-old filly, Thundering On, whose rise has been one of the standout success stories of the Classic season.
Her first outing since her Classic triumph came in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh on 27 June, when she dropped back to 1m2f and started as the odds-on favourite. Unable to reproduce her Epsom performance over the shorter trip, she finished fourth behind Estrange.
Saturday's Juddmonte Irish Oaks will therefore be Thundering On's third Group 1 start, but only her second attempt over a mile and a half, the distance that unlocked her full potential at Epsom. Victory would see her complete the coveted Epsom-Irish Oaks double, joining an exclusive roll of honour that includes Enable, Ouija Board, Snow Fairy and User Friendly.
Earth ShotAnother major contender is Earth Shot, a rapidly improving filly who earned her place among the Irish Oaks favourites with a courageous victory in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot and now bids to make the leap from Group race winner to Classic heroine.
Earth Shot first hinted at her potential when bolting up by five lengths in a Newbury maiden over 1m1f in May, confirming the promise she had shown on her debut. It was at Royal Ascot, however, that she announced herself on the biggest stage. In a Ribblesdale Stakes run at a relentless pace after a loose horse caused early chaos, James Doyle settled her off the speed before producing a determined late challenge. Earth Shot wore down Joseph O'Brien's Johanna Walsh in the closing strides to prevail by a head.
That success persuaded connections to supplement her for the Irish Oaks, and her trainer William Haggas thinks she has earned her chance at the Classic level and that the step up to a mile and a half plays to her strengths.