Saturday is going to be a busy day on the racing front and there are eight meetings taking place across Britain and Ireland. The Irish Oaks is the main event so we’ve picked out some key trends and there’s also an Oaks fancy amongst our outsiders to follow. We’ve also got some proven course performers from the day’s ITV action. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Aidan O’Brien has won the race more tomes than any other trainer, with eight victories to his name, and four of those have come in the last decade. He runs five in this year’s renewal and Ryan Moore will be on board Cheshire Oaks winner Amelia Earhart.
Six of the last 10 winners had previously won a recognised Oaks trial in Britain. The Cheshire Oaks, Lingfield Oaks Trial and the Musidora Stakes are amongst the trials which have worked out. Cameo won the Lingfield race and Amelia Earhart landed the spoils at Chester.
Four of the last 10 winners had won at Epsom beforehand and that bodes well for the chances of the Joseph O’Brien-trained Thundering On, who bolted up in the Oaks.
Nickelforce (20/1, bet365) was a comfortable winner off a 4lb lower mark at Fakenham on his penultimate start and if producing a similar effort here, he can make the frame at the very least.
Final Appeal is better than he showed at Chester last time out and it’s noted that he has been gelded since. Karl Burke’s two-year-old won well at Wolverhampton before that and shouldn’t be dismissed.
Sugar Island (28/1, bet365) made the running when third in the Oaks at Epsom and her finishing effort probably suffered as a result in the testing conditions. She did well to finish third in the end and it’s worth noting that she easily beat Thundering On as a two-year-old.
Almuhit has two wins and a second to his name in four previous starts on the Flat here and is 7lb better off with Baileys Khelstar, who he finished second to last time, so he should be in the mix once again.
Spioradalta loves Ripon and he has won here four times before. The most recent of those successes was achieved over 1m2f back in May and the six-year-old is currently on just a 2lb higher mark.