Minnie marvellous for O'Brien and Moore at Epsom

Glasgow Times

2 days ago

Desert Flower, the short-priced favourite and 1000 Guineas winner, was one of the first under pressure before stamina became an issue, although to her credit she stayed on bravely to finish third.
Up front it was the Ballydoyle pair that pulled a long way clear, but it took all of the final furlong for Ryan Moore's mount to get on top of long-time leader Whirl, with the 9-2 chance eventually winning by a neck.
O'Brien said: 'I've been delighted with this filly, she's got a great team around her and I'm so grateful to everybody.
Minnie Hauk just got the better of her stablemate (John Walton/PA)
'She's a very classy filly. She was just ready to run at Chester, she barely made it, but she made abnormal improvement from Chester, which we thought she might – it was all class rather than stamina or fitness, she just has a lot of class.
'Ryan gave her a beautiful ride, he loved her the last day and he loved her again today so it's very exciting.
'I'd say she's still a bit green. Obviously at Chester she learned a lot, but she was always going to improve with racing.'
He added: 'What you love about her is she's a great traveller with a lot of class, Ryan said he was going very easy early on, so usually that means she can step up a couple of grades into even higher class races – she could take on the boys if the lads decide it. I'm delighted for them to have another filly like this.'
Of the runner-up he said: 'Whirl ran a great race, she stays, she's by Wootton Bassett and it is very unusual what they are doing, they are speed horses but a lot are staying as well.
Ryan Moore knows how to pick them 🤌
He guides Minnie Hauk to win the @betfred Oaks 💯 pic.twitter.com/S257Gpp9Qo
— Epsom Downs Racecourse (@EpsomRacecourse) June 6, 2025
'She was fighting back again at the line, that's incredible really.'
Moore said: 'She began well and travelled strong early and I just wanted to make sure I was in a position to do what I wanted when I wanted.
'She just travelled a bit too strong and fell asleep on me then after I asked her to relax. The filly in front is a good filly and kept building the whole way and I just had to ask my filly to go to her and she quickened up very smartly and got there easily.
'Whirl came back and my filly found a little bit more. I think she'll improve for the experience and as far as three-year-old fillies go she's very good.
'She'll be (going for the) Irish Oaks/Nassau Stakes, that sort of thing, and we'll go from there. She's a lightly-raced filly and should improve.'
Moore added: 'I rode some exceptional fillies in this race, Love and Minding spring to mind and Snow Fairy as well. She's got a way to go, but she's open to any amount of improvement.'
While the Irish Oaks is on O'Brien's radar for Minnie Hauk, he also has one eye on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp in October.
He said: 'I would say there is every possibility this filly could be an Arc filly as she can go a lot stronger tempo than they went today, so that means she would be happy amongst the older horses.
'She's a classy filly and the improvement from here to Chester has been abnormal. She was a middle-distance filly working like a Guineas filly and when that happens it's a little bit different.
'The Irish Oaks is always close to our hearts and then there's the Yorkshire Oaks and the French trials and all those races are open to her before the Arc, but I think she's very classy and I think she's only going to improve.'