Irish Oaks Tips: Lyons raider to strike Classic glory at the Curragh
John & Thady Gosden's Emily Upjohn had been a red-hot favourite for the Irish Oaks when the 48hr declarations were made, but the Cazoo Oaks runner-up will not make the trip across the Irish Sea to the Curragh and will instead head to Ascot for the King George. Our man Steve Chambers tackles the Group 1 event now, which is wide open and is backing a Ger Lyons-trained runner...
The betting for this event has become wide open following the announcement Emily Upjohn will not line up and it's the impressive Jessica Harrington-trained Magical Lagoon, who was a stunning winner at Royal Ascot, and the progressive filly will attempt to follow that up here.
Harrington will go in search of her first Irish Oaks crown and the master dual purpose trainer will unleash Magical Lagoon, who is the 4/1 second favourite, and was last seen storming to an impressive victory in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot. Showing great tenacity that day, the Galileo filly was made to work hard by the classy Sea Silk Road, but Harrington's charge managed to find enough, and she's entitled to step up in grade here. Now Emily Upjohn doesn't take her chance then Magical Lagoon sets the standard and if she can build on that fine win at the Royal meeting at June then she looks the one to beat on Saturday afternoon.
There's a gigantic chasm in the betting between the Harrington-trained favourite in the betting and the other six runners with the next in the betting being Emily Dickinson, who is one of three Aidan O'Brien-trained runners, and that Ballydoyle charge is 16/1. O'Brien has won this six times and Emily Dickinson will be joined by History (20/1) and Toy (25/1) here, but it's the former that makes most appeal as she ran a fine race in Group 3 company last time out, and looked like she could improve for dropping back from 1m 6f. A winner over ten furlongs in a maiden, Emily Dickinson should be able to beat both History (third in Ribblesdale) and Toy (12th in Prix de Diane).
Ger Lyons claimed victory in this race two years ago, and the star Irish handler could have a lively outside contender in the shape of CAIRDE GO DEO, who was last seen beating the decent yardstick Boundless Ocean in Listed company and that Jim Bolger raider was a Group 3 winner earlier this week. She will need significantly more than that to land this prize, but at 18/1 she takes her chance at a track she's been victorious at before, and she had previously won another Listed event at Navan, so she heads to the Curragh on the back of two wins, and a hat-trick is certainly possible, although an each-way bet on her is probably the wise option.
Outsiders Show Of Stars and Fennela complete the line-up and both appear to have their work cut out in a fascinating renewal that is fancied to go the way of Magical Lagoon, but the aforementioned Cairde Go Deo could well spring a surprise and bound to glory in an intriguing renewal.
