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25 May 2019

Mehdaayih heads sweet 16 left in the Investec Oaks

Mehdaayih won in great style at Chester. Picture: Racingfotos.com
Supplementary entry Mehdaayih headlines 16 contenders going forward for the £523,750 Investec Oaks at Epsom on Friday.
Mehdaayih has been added to the 12-furlong fillies’ Classic at a cost of £30,000 after a polished four and a half-length victory in the Listed Cheshire Oaks on May 8. The Frankel filly is the 9/4 favourite with Unibet, official betting partner of the Investec Derby Festival.
John Gosden, the trainer of Mehdaayih, is also responsible for another impressive trial scorer in Anapurna (7/1), who defeated the Roger Varian-trained Tauteke (33/1) by six lengths in the Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial on May 11.
Gosden is chasing a third Investec Oaks success, having landed the Classic with Taghrooda (2014) and superstar Enable (2017).
Together Forever provided Aidan O’Brien with a seventh Investec Oaks triumph in 2018 and Ireland’s 21-time champion Flat trainer has five contenders going forward led by Pink Dogwood (3/1). A half-sister to 2018 Irish Derby victor Latrobe, Pink Dogwood returned to action with a smooth success in the Listed Salsabil Stakes at Navan.
O’Brien’s remaining Investec Oaks entries are QIPCO 1000 Guineas heroine Hermosa (12/1), who runs in the Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh tomorrow (Sunday May 26), plus Fleeting (33/1), Delphinia (40/1) and Peach Tree (33/1).
Further Irish interest could be provided by Tarnawa (16/1, Dermot Weld), winner of the Blue Wind Stakes at Naas and last season’s Fillies’ Mile scorer Iridessa (16/1, Joseph O’Brien), who has also been declared for the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Newmarket trainer William Haggas has two leading contenders in Maqsad (7/1) and Frankellina (14/1). Maqsad has won twice at Newmarket this year, most recently taking the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes by five lengths on May 5, while Frankellina shaped well on her reappearance when going down by a neck in the Musidora Stakes at York.
Ralph Beckett is a dual Investec Oaks-winning trainer, courtesy of Look Here (2008) and Talent (2013), and the Andover handler is set to be represented by Manuela De Vega (14/1).
Unbeaten as a two-year-old, including a Listed contest against colts at Pontefract in October, the Lope De Vega filly shaped well on her comeback when second behind Mehdaayih at Chester.
Lavender’s Blue (12/1, Amanda Perrett), a close second in the Listed Fillies’ Trial at Newbury on May 18, Musidora Stakes fifth Blue Gardenia (50/1, David O’Meara) and Sh Boom (66/1, Peter Chapple-Hyam) complete those seeking Investec Oaks glory.