Cross-channel raiders took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the Curragh’s 2024 Classic campaign to date when You Got To Me landed Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks.
With just September’s Comer Group Irish St Leger to come – and some are dubious of that all-aged contest’s Classic credentials – only Los Angeles has saved domestic blushes in last month’s Derby.
Ironically, it has proved a more profitable season for Irish horses in Britain on the back of City Of Troy’s Derby victory at Epsom while Ezeliya landed the Oaks there. Only the French have kept all their Classics at home.
Tower Of London thrust himself firmly into the Irish Leger picture less than 40 minutes after Saturday’s Oaks with a dramatic Curragh Cup victory. Tower Of London’s chances looked gone when his stable companion Grosvenor Square built up a massive lead, but he ultimately won snugly despite having to make up a massive amount of ground. Asked afterwards about his thoughts early in the straight, Jockey Ryan Moore deadpanned: “Not to get there too soon!”
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It was a notably cool spin considering how frustrating an experience the Oaks was for the Englishman on board the favourite Content. On the rail and trailing You Got To Me into the straight, Content had to be snatched up at a vital point and Moore was forced to bide his time behind a wall of horses for a crucial couple of seconds before securing a clear run with his luckless partner.
By then the winner had flown to give jockey Hector Crouch a first Group One success. It left Content’s legendary sire Galileo frustratingly still on 99 individual Group/Grade One victories worldwide, although the filly might yet get a chance to secure a landmark century.
“I was delighted with her run,” her trainer Aidan O’Brien said. “It wasn’t for us this year and we’ve been second in the Oaks a lot of times. She probably won’t go to Goodwood as the Justify filly [Opera Singer] will probably go there. Ryan said she is made for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and she ran well in America last year, so she might have one more run and go there.”
Even in the midst of victory last year’s Oaks was still in the mind of You Got To Me’s trainer Ralph Beckett. He saddled Bluestocking in the race in 2023, who got touched off in the dying strides by O’Brien’s Savethelastdance.
“It was a tough day here last year when Bluestocking was mugged in this race, so it was great to get this filly to win today. I’m not sure any of us expected her to win like that, but it makes it all the sweeter,” the Hampshire-based trainer said.
“We have seen a difference in her over the last fortnight. She travelled over really well, and got here in really good shape. She is in pretty much everything bar the St Leger. She could go for the Yorkshire Oaks, and I think York will suit her well.”
Bluestocking broke her own Group One duck in the Pretty Polly back at the Curragh earlier this month and hasn’t been ruled out from a tilt at this Saturday’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. “It depends on the weather and how we feel and so on. It will either be the King George or the Nassau or the Yorkshire Oaks, or two of the three,” Beckett said.
The filly is a general 7-1 shot in most ante-post lists for the all-aged midsummer highlight.
There was other cross-channel success at HQ when Moore partnered Believing to victory in the Group Two Sapphire Stakes. On that occasion it was Crouch who endured a luckless passage on board the fast-finishing third Makarova.
Monday evening’s domestic action is at Ballinrobe where a horse bred for Classic glory instead lines up in a nine-furlong handicap off a lowly official mark of 67.
Simpson’s Paradox began his career with Jesscia Harrinton, who trained a trio of siblings that all won at Group One level – Discoveries, Alpine Star and Ireland’s 2018 Horse of the Year Alpha Centauri, whose stellar CV included the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Their male relative has conspicuously failed to reach such heights but did win at Killarney off 74 last year before being sold to race three times for the Richard Newland team in Britain.
The horse is back in Ireland and ran with a little promise at Bellewstown earlier this month. An easier surface at Ballinrobe could help him secure a second career victory.
Harrington herself can hit the mark in Mayo with the Sea The Stars filly Starian in the final maiden. Runner-up in his last three starts, she faced a significant opponent at Down Royal last time when proving no match for the smart jumps mare Magical Zoe.
