Seventh Shocks in Irish Oaks and Geraghty Comes To Grief
The major race of the weekend went to Aidan O’Brien just as everyone expected it would. The manner in which the prize made its way into the clutches of team Ballydoyle was however not exactly as anticipated.
The Irish Oaks at the Curragh went not to the odds on favourite, Even Song, who scored impressively in Royal Ascot’s Ribblesdale Stakes last time out, but instead to the 14/1 shot Seventh Heaven, beaten 33 lengths in the Oaks on her previous start. No one ever said this winner picking business was easy.
In truth though Seventh Heaven is far from the first runner to have been flummoxed by Epsom’s turns and undulations, and had earlier demonstrated a smart level of form at a more conventional track, when accounting for Architecture in the Lingfield Oaks Trial.
Jockey Seamie Heffernan is the man to get second choice of the O’Brien runners and made the right decision here once Ryan Moore had understandably sided with Even Song. Seventh Heaven’s victory was the fifth in all for O’Brien in this contest, and he now sits just one win behind the most successful trainer in the history of the race, Sir Michael Stoute. The second and third spots were filled by the same horses as in the Epsom Oaks, with Hugo Palmer’s Architecture again finding one too good and Harlequeen running a fine race in third for Mick Channon.
Looking Ahead to some Great Racing
Racing fans are certainly spoilt for choice in late July, with not one, but two festivals on the menu. Glorious Goodwood takes place from 26th-30th, with the Galway Festival over in Ireland running for a bumper seven days between the 25th and 31st.
One man who will possibly be looking forward to this racing bonanza a little less than most is Irish jockey Barry Geraghty. As the retained rider for powerful owner J P McManus, Geraghty had a fine book of rides to look forward to at Galway, with major chances in both the Galway Hurdle and Galway Plate. Unfortunately Barry will now miss not only the Galway Festival, but all of the racing action for the next two to three months.
The cause of this spell on the side-lines is a broken arm sustained when falling at the final flight aboard the McManus owned Cernunnos at Market Rasen on Saturday. As is often the case in the racing world, for every loser there is a winner, and the man to benefit from this misfortune is J P McManus’s number two rider, Mark Walsh, who will be looking to grab his opportunity in the spotlight with both hands.
Looking ahead to the coming weekend it is Ascot’s prestigious King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes which takes centre stage. With a number of the middle distance stars of the season to date, most notably the Derby and Oaks winners Harzand and Minding, but also the emerging Hawkbill, being targeted elsewhere, this year’s renewal looks at the mercy of defending champion Postponed. Aidan O’Brien’s Highland Reel and John Gosden’s three year old Wings of Desire look to be the chief threats to the Roger Varian trained favourite.
