Benny Andersson of ABBA will be represented as an owner at Epsom on Friday by Lavender’s Blue in the Gr1 Investec Oaks on Ladies Day.
The Sea The Stars filly went down by a neck to Queen Power in the Listed Haras De Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial Stakes at Newbury on May 18, having won on debut at Newmarket in April.
Are you old enough? ABBA’s Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog,and Bjoern Ulvaeus
She is out of Andersson’s Beatrice Aurore, a Gr3 winner who finished sixth in the 2011 Investec Oaks.
Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum has seen his famous silks carried to success in the Investec Oaks on three occasions, thanks to Salsabil (1990), Eswarah (2005) and Taghrooda (2014).
He has a strong contender this year with Maqsad (William Haggas/Jim Crowley, 7/1).
Taghrooda wins 2014 Epsom Oaks
The Siyouni filly, who shaped with promise in two outings last year, has won on both her two 2019 outing, following up victory in a mile maiden at Newmarket’s Craven Meeting in April with a smooth five-length success in the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes over 10 furlongs at the same venue on May 5.
Angus Gold, racing manager to Hamdan Al Maktoum, reported Wednesday: “Maqsad is in good form.
“She has improved an awful lot this season and was very impressive when winning the Pretty Polly. She is a classy filly and hopefully she stays the trip and handles the track at Epsom. On pedigree, she is not guaranteed to stay, but we are looking forward to seeing how she gets on.It is great to have a live chance in the Oaks.”
Angus Gold (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
Newmarket-based Haggas, who won the Investec Oaks with Dancing Rain in 2011, also runs the Anthony Oppenheimer-owned and bred Frankellina (James Doyle, 14/1), runner-up in the Gr3 Musidora Stakes at York on May 15.
A field of 14, the highest number in the last five years, is set to go to post in the £525,000 Gr1 Investec Oaks (17h30), the premier fillies’ Classic and highlight of a fabulous Investec Ladies’ Day at Epsom Downs on Friday.
Staged over the same one mile, four furlongs and six yards as the Investec Derby, the Investec Oaks is one of two Gr1 contests on Investec Ladies’ Day alongside the Ge1 Investec Coronation Cup (16h 10) for older horses. Both the Investec Oaks and Investec Coronation Cup are part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.
Ireland’s 21-times champion Flat trainer Aidan O’Brien is the most successful current trainer in the Investec Oaks with seven victories, most recently Forever Together 12 months’ ago. His four 2019 runners are headed by Pink Dogwood (Ryan Moore), a full-sister to last year’s Irish Derby victor Latrobe and the ready winner of the Listed Salsabil Stakes at Navan on April 28. The Camelot filly is 2/1 favourite with Unibet, official betting partner of the Investec Derby Festival.
Aidan O’Brien – dominant force
Also representing Ballydoyle are Fleeting (Wayne Lordan, 40/1), winner of the Gr2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster last season, but disappointing on her seasonal reappearance in the mile Newmarket Classic, the QIPCO 1,000 Guineas, Listed winner Peach Tree (Donnacha O’Brien, 50/1) and Delphinia (Seamie Heffernan, 50/1). Delphinia and Peach Tree were last seen out in the Gr3 Blue Wind Stakes at Naas on May 11 when third and fourth respectively behind the Aga Khan’s homebred Tarnawa (Dermot Weld/Chris Hayes, 25/1).
Frankel filly Mehdaayih (John Gosden/Rab Havlin, 11/4) was supplemented for the Investec Oaks on Saturday at a cost of £30,000 following a very impressive four and a half-length victory over Manuela De Vega (Ralph Beckett/Harry Bentley, 10/1) in the Listed Cheshire Oaks at Chester on May 8.
John Gosden (photo: Investec)
Newmarket-based Gosden, the reigning champion Flat trainer in Britain, is seeking a third Investec Oaks success, following on from Taghrooda (2014) and Enable (2017). His other representative in 2019 is another Frankel filly, Anapurna (Frankie Dettori, 4/1), impressive when landing the Listed Oaks Trial at Lingfield Park on May 11 by six lengths from Tauteke (Roger Varian/Andrea Atzeni, 50/1).
Completing the field for the 2019 Investec Oaks are Musidora Stakes fifth Blue Gardenia (David O’Meara/Jamie Spencer, 100/1) and Sh Boom (Peter Chapple-Hyam/Tom Queally, 100/1), who was sixth in the Listed Haras De Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial Stakes.
