Gosden: Coronet can seize Curragh Irish Oaks crown

TRAINER John Gosden will not be surprised if Coronet pushes Enable all the way in the Darley Irish Oaks this afternoon.

Frankie Dettori-ridden Enable is long odds-on favourite to win her second Classic but Gosden said the faster ground at the Curragh would be more in favour of his Olivier Peslier-ridden Ribblesdale Stakes winner.

Coronet finished 16 lengths behind Enable in the Epsom Oaks but Gosden (right), who won the 2012 Irish Oaks with Great Heaven, said: ‘Enable is a filly happiest on good ground and it will be somewhat faster.

‘She is a very good filly but Coronet enjoyed the faster ground at Ascot and will probably enjoy it at the Curragh. It will be a nice race between them. I would not totally be surprised if Coronet beat Enable. They are both fast-improving fillies.’

British trainers have a good recent record in the Irish Oaks, winning four of the last eight runnings.

Aidan O’Brien has won all the Irish Classics so far this season with Churchill (2,000 Guineas), Winter (1,000 Guineas) and Capri (Derby).

He runs Alluringly, well beaten by Enable and Coronet this season, plus Pretty Polly Stakes runner-up Rain Goddess.

John Oxx won back-to-back renewals of the Irish Oaks with Ebadiyla (1997) and Winona (1998), but has failed to add to his tally since.

This year the Currabeg handler launches a twin assault, with Ribblesdale disappointment Naughty Or Nice set to be joined by stablemate Bengala.

Naughty Or Nice won each of her first two starts before the saddle slipped at Ascot.

‘Her first two runs were promising and the form has worked out quite well,’ said Oxx.

‘She had a bit of a disaster when she ran at Royal Ascot. We didn’t find out anything about her. ‘On ratings she has quite a bit to find with Enable, obviously, but after Enable, who looks outstanding, the rest of them are much of a muchness, I suppose.

‘You’d be hard pressed to pick the second-best filly at the moment and I think it’s an open race apart from the favourite. ‘Everybody thinks they might have a chance of being in the first four.’ Aidan O’Brien’s main chance of a top-level win this afternoon is with Ryan Moore-ridden Caravaggio in the July Cup at Newmarket, where Roly Poly gave him an 11th Group One win of the season yesterday with victory in the Falmouth Stakes.

The 6-4 favourite had not won in seven races, since landing the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes on the equivalent card 12 months earlier. And the 2017 Falmouth Stakes was not of the season’s strongest Group One races.

SAM TURNER (Robin Goodfellow) was in fine form on day two of Newmarket’s July meeting when all four of his TV selections obliged to provide followers with a 144-1 accumulator. He picked Parfait (5-2 fav), Clemmie (11-8 fav), Marzouq (6-1) and Roly Poly (6-4 fav).