2024 Epsom Oaks Tips
Ylang Ylang is the short-priced favourite when it comes to the Epsom Oaks, with the three-year-old having finished fifth in the recent 1000 Guineas. It was an exciting finish to a race where the first five home finished within a length of each other, with this coming after a victory in October when firing on all cylinders to land the spoils in the Fillies’ Mile.
Rubies Are Red has posted runner-up spots at Leopardstown and Lingfield this season, with the former coming over one mile and two furlongs on heavy ground. The runner finished three and a half lengths off the pace on that occasion, with the horse then missing out by half a length in an Oaks Trial Fillies Stakes.
Ezeliya was able to win for Dermot Weld a month ago when scoring at Navan towards the end of April, with the filly beating six other rivals over one mile and two furlongs. This came after a previous victory at Cork in September, with the mare looking like a backable each-way price over one mile and four furlongs.
Forest Fairy is trading at a double figure price and there was plenty to like about her victory at Chester when winning in a field of six runners. This was in the Cheshire Oaks where Rossa Ryan was able to steer the runner to a victory by a head. This was especially pleasing after the horse dwelt at the start and she looks like a decent each-way bet.
2023 Epsom Oaks Tips
Savethelastdance is a talented filly who is set to go off favourite in the 2023 Oaks, with victories coming recently at Leopardstown and Chester. The Aidan O’Brien-trained mare was sent off at a massive 20/1 to win a Fillies Maiden in Ireland, although that successful has proved a springboard for greater successes and there was lots to like about a win in the more recent Cheshire Oaks.
This was over one mile, three and a half furlongs, with Ryan Moore riding the horse to a 22-length victory, with a repeat of that performance potentially enough to secure a win in the Oaks. However, Soul Sister could be a viable opponent and there was a fine win in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes at York Racecourse.
Running Lion has to jump up in class in order to land a victory, with the John & Thady Gosden-trained runner able to secure a victory in the Howden Pretty Polly Stakes, with this being a four and a half length win at Newmarket over one mile and two furlongs. There was previously a win in a conditions stakes race at Kempton on the all-weather.
Infinite Cosmos was third to Soul Sister at York on 17 May and has improvement to find in order to feature here, with Warm Heart having bagged consecutive wins and perhaps this O’Brien-trained runner is set to make a splash. A win at Leopardstown in a maiden race, with another victory coming in a listed race at Newbury.
2022 Oaks Betting Tips
Emily Upjohn is a horse that has descended from Sea The Stars and Hidden Brief. John Gosden knows what is required to win races such as the 2022 Oaks and the betting odds suggest that she has a lively chance of claiming a victory over one mile and four furlongs.
The horse first rose to prominence when running a big race at Wolverhampton Racecourse over one mile and one furlong, with that victory taking place at the end of November, while the horse’s second outing was more impressive against esteemed company and she left the field trailing in her wake.
Tuesday is part of the Aidan O’Brien stable and looks capable of running into the frame and the runner was ultimately two lengths away from winning the 1000 Guineas. It is likely to be the case that a further distance in trip will allow the horse to stretch her legs and prove to have plenty of stamina to get over the line.
If you’re looking for a horse to back at a bigger price, then With The Moonlight runs for crack trainer Charlie Appleby. The three-year-old is trading at attractive each-way odds, with the Godolphin runner winning the Betfair Pretty Polly Stakes and it was a convincing victory over one mile and two furlongs in this listed race.
Appleby also has Field Of Dreams who has only been seen on one occasion when winning the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing Maiden Fillies' Stakes, while Agave is the more exotic selection that runs for legendary French trainer Andre Fabre and there have been three successive wins.
2021 Oaks Betting Tips
The 2021 Oaks is scheduled to take place on Friday 4 June, with some of the leading three-year-old fillies descending on Epsom to clash over a distance of one mile and four furlongs, with legendary trainer Aidan O’Brien being typically mob-handed for this exciting Classic horse race where there’s a clear favourite to land the spoils.
Can Santa Barbara Oblige as Oaks Favourite?
Santa Barbara is the horse regarded as the one to beat and O’Brien has the leading runner in the field, with the horse having broken on to the racing scene by winning a maiden race at The Curragh, while the runner then competed well in the 1,000 Guineas although there was only a fourth-placed finish in this race.
Naturally, money talks and the bookies have received a lot of bets on Santa Barbara to win the Oaks, although betting odds of 3/1 illustrate that a horse is more likely to spring out of the pack and record a victory rather than the favourite wins.
Mother Earth Could Beat Stablemate in Oaks
Mother Earth was triumphant when winning the recent 1,000 Guineas and we’re surprised that you can get such a big price about a horse who has bags of experience at the tender age of three-years-old, with the Irish raider having finished a confident second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland over the distance of one mile.
The O’Brien runner tends to be in the frame every time he sets foot on the track and a third-placed finish in the bet365 Fillies’ Mile saw Mother Earth land third place at betting odds ofg 18/1, with punters likely to come on board for this horse.
Noon Star is another interesting runner and Sir Michael Stoute’s horse has taken a different route to get through to this stage, with the horse winning a Novices’ Stakes at Wetherby towards the end of April, with jockey Richard Kingscote likely to be on board again.
Teona arrived with a strong reputation despite just a couple of runs at Newcastle Racecourse and there was plenty to like about the Roger Varian charge when obliging at short odds of 1/3.
2020 Epsom Oaks Predictions and Tips
As far as Flat racing is concerned, one mile and four furlongs is a fair distance and it will be interesting to see whether QUADRILATERAL shortens or lengthens in the market as we get closer to the Oaks being run.
The three-year-old currently holds entries into the 1000 Guineas, Irish 1000 Guineas and Irish Oaks, although it’s perfectly possible that the Roger Charlton-trained charge will also line up for this encounter providing that the season is going smoothly.
It’s clear that the horse was excellent as a two-year-old filly, with successive wins at Newbury (twice) and Newmarket marking out the runner as a potentially leading contender.
BORN WITH PRIDE is trading as short as 12/1 with some firms but 20/1 with others and William Haggas could have a dangerous contender on his hands. It’s very hard to judge a horse after just one run although the way in which she won the British Stallion Studs EBF Montrose Fillies' Stakes in November makes things interesting.
Aidan O’Brien has experienced lots of success in this race over the past few years and LOVE could be the horse to claim the spoils this time around, with the daughter of Galileo having been raced heavily as a two-year-old to the extent that she already has seven runs under her belt.
Epsom Oaks Betting Odds
For anyone looking to bet antepost on the Epsom Oaks, there’s the chance to get three places for each-way wagers at the moment, with the bookies paying 1/5 odds for the horses in the frame although you can expect more generous terms as the big race approaches.
Quadrilateral’s performance in the 1000 Guineas will have a big bearing on whether she lines up for the Oaks as the leading favourite, with Born With Pride, Love and Domino Darling among the other horses who are set to be on the betting shortlist should their season go according to plan.
Cayenne Pepper is also being widely quoted for the race at Epsom and Jessica Harrington could have a lively horse on her hands considering that the Jon Kelly-owned charge only finished three lengths behind Quadrilateral last time out.
Passion is an Irish raider that also merits respect, with Aidan O’Brien saddling the horse to an eye-catching win at Cork last year before the horse proved to be underwhelming when running well behind eventual winner Powerful Breeze in the William Hill May Hill Stakes at Doncaster.
How to Bet on the Epsom Oaks
The Epsom Oaks has been in operation since 1779 and it should be noted that jockey Dick Goodisson was successful in the first three runnings of the race, landing the spoils on Bridget, Tetotum and Faith.
More recently, we’ve seen certain trainers completely dominate proceedings for this fillies race. Up until 2014, we hadn’t seen John Gosden saddle the winner of this Classic race although Taghrooda triumphed for the trainer and that has since been followed by the legendary Enable in 2017 before another win with Anapurna twelve months ago.
However, the champion trainer for the Oaks in recent times is Aidan O’Brien and the Irishman has prospered on seven occasions with Shahtoush (1998), Imagine (2001), Alexandrova (2006), Was (2012), Qualify (2015), Minding (2016) and Forever Together (2018).
Therefore, while you can never follow the same horse considering the race is only open to three-year-olds, there is the opportunity to follow trainers who have previously geared up for successes with leading horses.
It’s also worth noting we have had some big price winners in recent years. Qualify, Talent, Was and Dancing Rain have all obliged at odds of 20/1 and so it’s certainly worth looking beyond the favourites where possible.
Mehdaayih 6/1 for Oaks after Chester win
The Oaks takes place on Friday 31 May and we have two horses currently vying for favouritism, with Mehdaayih leaping to the head of the betting after an outstanding performance at Chester racecourse on Wednesday 8 May.
Trainer John Gosden admitted he was confident in the horse’s ability ahead of the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks and so it proved at the Roodee, with Mehdaayih spread-eagling the field before running out an impressive winner.
The filly is now trading at around the 6/1 mark to win the Oaks at the end of the month and owners Emirates Park Pty Ltd would need to supplement Mehdaayih for the Classic as she is currently not entered into the race.
It would appear an easy decision on the basis of this performance, with the Listed race at Chester providing the winner of the Oaks on the past two occasions.
In 2017, Enable kicked on from winning the Cheshire Oaks to win at Epsom, while Magic Wand claimed the spoils in both races twelve months ago when fending off Forever Together.
Thady Gosden, son and assistant to the winning trainer, said: "She must have have enjoyed that bit of juice in the ground. We have to talk to the owner (to see) if we supplement for the Oaks and that is up to him.
"Mr Nasser Lootah (owner) has a lot of horses down in Australia and we will talk to him and see what he wants to do. The last race at Chelmsford was only a two-horse race and you couldn't get a proper read of that. She couldn't have done that any better and she couldn't have done this any better.
"It was a slight unknown (the ground), but she shaped as a filly that might like a bit of juice there. They have had rain here since three in the morning quite heavily, so we were unsure but they are getting through easily enough and it is nice fresh ground.”
Rab Havlin was on board Mehdaayih at Chester and admitted that the horse took a little while to get going in the race, although the jockey was also delighted with the way his charge took to the ground.
Havlin added: "She was a little bit sluggish away. I had it in my mind I didn't want to be down the inside as I knew there were a couple of fillies rated in the 70s there and at some point they would stop and come back.
"She had enough turn of foot to get out before the two pole. She surprised me how she picked up. She loved the ground.
"Whether we go for the Ribblesdale or the Oaks, I will leave that to the boss. She showed a really good change of gear there. The last half-furlong she started to wander left, but I think she had a bit left up her sleeve."