Monday, May 22, 2006

Epsom Oaks

The Epsom Derby is less than two weeks away but the fillies with entries in The Oaks have been attracting more of the attention.

At York last week, the headline writers have had great fun with Sir Michael Stoute's filly Short Skirt; examples included 'Short Skirt raises a few eyebrows' and 'Short Skirt a cut above rivals'.

Pam Sly looks as though she'll supplement her filly Speciosa at a cost of £20,000 following her victory in the 1000 Guineas. An Oaks victory for this small jumping yard based in Peterborough would be the fairytale story. To draw a rather trite footballing comparison, Speciosa winning The Oaks would be on a par with the local football team winning the F.A. Cup.

On Saturday Channel 4's John McCririck pointed out that 1000 Guineas winners have a decent record in The Oaks. Speciosa will need some cut in the ground to be seen at her best. We've had a bit of rain recently; Speciosa is currently 8/1 with Betfred.

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