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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Minnie Hauk makes it more exciting than anticipated but lands Irish Oaks at 2/11
Considering much of the pre-race chat was whether Minnie Hauk might start the shortest priced classic runner ever, Saturday's Juddmonte Irish Oaks turned out to be much more exciting than many had anticipated. Ultimately Aidan O'Brien 's eighth winner of the race, and the 16th filly to complete the Epsom-Curragh Oaks double, won a shade cosily. But those who bet the 2/11 SP must have been momentarily shifting uneasily in the straight as Ryan Moore started to scrub on the hotpot while Dylan Browne McMonagle was motionless in front of him on Wemightakedlongway. The latter was fourth at Epsom and a change of tactics briefly looked like paying off only for Minnie Hauk to ultimately come through and win by just over a length. READ MORE If there was a rather underwhelming feel to the performance, she did at least land her cramped odds. O'Brien's Order Of St George was famously beaten at 1/7 in the 2016 Irish Leger, a race that Yeats also got beaten in at 2/7 in 2006. In the end Australia's record 1/8 price when landing the 2014 Curragh Derby was unchallenged and his awkwardly named daughter, Wemightakedlongway, momentarily underlined the dangers of betting very short. Having narrowly beaten her stable companion Whirl at Epsom, the charitable take on Saturday's double display was that Minnie Hauk might not do it prettily but does consistently pull off the all-important feat of winning. Moore said he was never worried, although Browne McMonagle's tactical shift appeared to be a surprise. 'I just had to wake her up to get past Dylan, a little bit like at the Oaks at Epsom. She'd be quite deceptive. She's become more professional and at least we've learned a little bit more about her today. 'There's probably no doubt that it was a weak running of an Oaks. I'm happy with her and I'm sure she is going to go on to better things as well. 'When I asked her, she switched her lead and went and done it. At Chester at the start of the year she only won by a length, she just timed herself. When she got to the front at Epsom, she went asleep on me again. We are learning about her, and she'll be better than this,' reassured the English rider. Ryan Moore on Minnie Hauk win The Juddmonte Irish Oaks (Group 1). Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho O'Brien quickly added that the best of the €1.85 million 2023 Orby sales-topper won't be seen until she gets a very high race tempo to target. Afterwards, the Ballydoyle brains trust debated a potential route towards October's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with either the Yorkshire Oaks or the Prix Vermeille apparently to the fore as possible trials. 'The boss (John Magnier) asked Ryan where to go with her and he said to go to the Yorkshire Oaks. The boss said 'what about if we give her a break and train her for the Vermeille and give her a French Arc prep?' All those things are open, and we'll see how she is. 'I think she can do either of those things but if she's going to the French trial she'd have to have a couple of easy weeks. Obviously if she's going to York she wouldn't have those couple of easy weeks,' O'Brien commented. The immediate dividend though was a seventh classic of the year for the trainer and an 11th Group One success in all. Having briefly threatened to spoil the short-priced Oaks party, Dylan Browne McMonagle later hit the mark on his own odds-on favourite Al Riffa in the Group Two Curragh Cup. The dual-Group One winner made light of the step up to 14-furlongs and quickened past inferior rivals to set up a tilt at the Irish Leger in September. Joseph O'Brien , twice a Melbourne Cup winner, didn't rule out a tilt at the Flemington highlight either with a colt who was classy enough to land a National Stakes as a two-year-old. Proud of Wemighttakedlongway's classic effort – 'Minnie Hauk is a champion, and we gave her a fright for a few seconds' – O'Brien is also eyeing a profitable autumn with Al Riffa. Earlier on the classic programme, True Love's 1-2 odds were comparatively generous when she made no mistake in kicking right away from three colts in the Group Two Gain Railway Stakes. The Queen Mary winner had no trouble stepping up a furlong and proved five lengths too good for her stable companion Puerto Rico. Ryan Moore on True Love wins The GAIN Railway Stakes (Group 2) at the Curragh. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Having proven her credentials for the trip, O'Brien nominated potential targets in the Phoenix Stakes back at HQ, Deauville for the Prix Morny, and Newmarket's Cheveley Park Stakes. True Love was the first filly to win the Railway in 27 years and having successfully led the Ballydoyle juvenile bandwagon here may end up taking on colts again later this campaign. O'Brien indicated his exciting Albert Einstein 'probably' won't run again this season. That leaves the Coventry winner Gstaad – who beat True Love in his maiden – as his most likely top colt to go to war with later this summer. As well as the Phoenix and the Morny, Gstaad's ambitions could also see him aimed at seven-furlong contests in the National Stakes and the Dewhurst. However, the dangers of planning too far ahead also got underlined on Saturday when O'Brien revealed doubts about last year's champion juvenile filly Lake Victoria even racing again. Out of action since landing the Irish Guineas in May, he said: 'She is not back in exercise yet. She's doing very well physically, but she's not back in work yet. 'John (Halley, vet) will make the decision on whether she comes back into work for this year or is left alone until next year, or is retired altogether. They'll be decisions that will be made as weeks go by.' O'Brien opened Saturday's card with a 1-2-3 in the juvenile maiden where the odds-on New Zealand won by a nose from the eye-catching newcomer Isaac Newton. The sprinting division is often Irish racing's poor relation but there could be a real top-notcher in Ireland for a change as Arizona Blaze continued his progress up the ranks and landed the Group Two Barberstown Cstle Sapphire Stakes. Runner up in Royal Ascot's Commonwealth Cup, and at last year's Breeders' Cup, the AMO Racing colt dropped to the minimum distance and proved too quick for the English raider Mgheera. David Egan, whose sister Alexandra rode her first winner at Down Royal on Friday evening, dominated from the front on the winner and a potential tilt at York's Nunthorpe next month could be another shot at a top-level success. AMO's big-spending owner Kia Joorabchian was present at the Curragh to watch the colt and expressed confidence that a top-flight victory is within Arizona Blaze's grasp. 'He's been professional all the way. He loves five and can go six and seven. He loves the five furlongs and hopefully we'll have a lot more fun with him,' he said. 'I think we'll aim for the Breeders' Cup. I think he'll get a Group 1 somewhere.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Jan Brueghel poised to be the Ballydoyle big gun in the King George
While the Ballydoyle handler was not ruling out the possibility of Epsom and Curragh winner Lambourn taking on his elders when speaking at the Kildare track on Saturday, connections appear more likely to chart a path towards a third Classic bid in the Betfred-sponsored Leger at Doncaster in September. You shall not pass ❌ Jan Brueghel sees off Calandagan to win the Betfred Coronation Cup 🏆#EpsomDerbyFestival — ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 6, 2025 O'Brien said: 'At the moment I'd say Jan Brueghel is most likely to go to the King George, with Continuous. 'Lambourn is still on the boiling pot for it, but I don't think he'll be forced into it by any means and he is a three-year-old. 'Jan Brueghel seems to be in very good form and everyone seems to be very happy with him. I'd imagine the lads might let him go there. 'That would mean Lambourn would have a couple of easy weeks and he might go to the Great Voltigeur (at York), even though he's a Group One winner, and kind of set him up for the Leger. 'They haven't really decided yet, but reading between the lines that's what could happen.' Delacroix won a pulsating renewal of the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown (Chris Radburn/PA) O'Brien also confirmed his Eclipse first and fourth Delacroix and Camille Pissarro are both being trained for next month's Juddmonte International at York, despite bookmaker support prompting speculation the former could drop back to a mile for a clash with Field Of Gold in Goodwood's Sussex Stakes, while the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe remains the long-term target for Los Angeles. 'We have Delacroix and Camille Pissarro being trained for the Juddmonte at York and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. They'll be taking that slot at the moment,' he said. 'Los Angeles is on a break and he'll maybe go to the Prix Foy on Arc trials day with the view of going to the Arc with him. 'Delacroix loved Leopardstown and was very good around there. Whether the lads decide to go to York or not before that, they'll make that decision. He seems in good form at the moment.' Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with ITV Racing, O'Brien revealed his Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Lake Victoria may not run again. The Frankel filly was ruled out of Royal Ascot last month after suffering a setback and has not yet returned to work. LAKE VICTORIA wins the Irish 1000 Guineas! 🏆 What a day for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore! @curraghrace @Tattersalls_ie | @coolmorestud — Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 25, 2025 O'Brien said: 'She is not back in exercise yet. She's doing very well physically, but she's not back in work yet. 'John (Halley, vet) will make the decision on whether she comes back into work for this year or is left alone until next year or is retired altogether. They'll be decisions that will be made as weeks go by.' The trainer is preparing both Whirl and Bedtime Story for the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, but admitted he was 'a little bit uneasy about running them against each other', hinting Whirl could be rerouted to the Yorkshire Oaks should his Epsom and Curragh Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk head elsewhere. Gstaad and Ryan Moore after winning at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA) With the highly touted Albert Einstein 'probably not' going to run going to run again this season, O'Brien's juvenile team for the second half of the season is set to be led by Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad, who has several Group One options coming up. O'Brien added: 'Gstaad is very well, he's come out of the Coventry very well. We're thinking he could be a Heinz (Phoenix Stakes) horse, he could take in Deauville (Prix Morny) and he could take in the National Stakes and he could end up being a Dewhurst horse at the end.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Minnie Hauk at prohibitive odds to become 16th filly to complete Epsom-Curragh Oaks double
The Cork hurling team are cramped odds for this weekend's All-Ireland hurling final, but Minnie Hauk is an even hotter sporting favourite in Saturday's Juddmonte Irish Oaks. Aidan O'Brien's filly looks a standout for the Curragh's €500,000 feature as she bids to become the 16th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Oaks double. Snowfall in 2021 was one of O'Brien's seven previous winners of the race and she duly completed the double at prohibitive odds of 2-7. Ante-post betting suggests Minnie Hauk could start considerably shorter than that again against six opponents, half of which are her stable companions. It's a long way from last year's 14-runner contest – the biggest field in over a dozen years – won by the British raider You Got To Me. This time it's an all-local contest that includes a maiden and a runner rated a relatively mediocre 85. READ MORE On the face of it, only Wemighttakedlongway, trained by O'Brien's son Joseph , looks up to giving Minnie Hauk a race, and she was only fourth at Epsom last month. Wemighttakedlongway was subsequently fourth again to the Epsom runner-up Whirl in the Pretty Polly so the form looks solid. The daughter of Australia is back at a mile and a half and Joseph O'Brien is hopeful some ease in the ground will help her close the gap. Nevertheless, how enticing a prospect a Classic is that looks more coronation than competition remains to be seen. But should Minnie Hauk pull off the double she will join some stellar company. Enable in 2017 subsequently became one of the best middle-distance performers in Europe this century. Snow Fairy (2010) and Ouija Board (2004) progressed to become globally acclaimed performers as well. True Love ridden by Ryan Moore on their way to winning the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot. Photograph: John Walton/PA Wire In a notably open middle-distance scene this year, Minnie Hauk already tops some betting lists for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October. All of it suggests the chances of something putting it up to her come 3.40pm on Saturday look more unlikely than Tipp turning over the Rebels, but against that, excellence should be on show. A similar friction between quality and competition looks to surround the earlier Gain Railway Stakes, one of a trio of Group Two contests backing up the Classic. Moved back from its established Derby-day date, it has just four runners lining up. Small fields aren't unusual for a race with a stellar roll of honour, but how Ballydoyle's filly True Love looks like being the outstanding candidate is. The last filly to win the Railway was Camargo in 1998. True Love landed the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot and is Ryan Moore's pick over Puerto Rico as O'Brien chases a 15th win in the race. If switching the Group Two Railway for the Group Three Anglesey over Derby weekend had a certain Pattern book logic to it, this turnout will still convince sceptics it really had more to do with making the 'Blue Riband' programme more suitable for World Pool betting. However, such a turnout, particularly considering the likely financial pay-off from the World Pool, will probably bolster official belief that the switch is worth it. Unlike Derby-day, there is plenty of Pattern-race support to this Classic card, although another standout could dominate the Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup. Dylan Browne McMonagle riding Al Riffa (right) to win the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at the Curragh in 2022. Photograph:The dual Group One winner Al Riffa has spent his career mixing it with some of Europe's best middle-distance performers and memorably gave City Of Troy a scare in last year's Eclipse. Joseph O'Brien stretches him into the staying division now and with encouragement in his pedigree for stamina, and no top-flight penalties to concede, this looks an ideal opportunity. Some high-class sprinters contest the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes including Arizona Blaze, who found only one too good in Royal Ascot's Commonwealth Cup. He's playing senior hurling now, though, against his elders, albeit it may prove to be another three-year-old, Powerful Nation, that proves too strong. Andy Slattery has made no secret of his regard for the colt who has Group One ambitions later this season. Just a single cross-channel raider takes on local sprinters in the Scurrys Handicap but Canon's House is on a roll having won his last three starts. The Easterby runner is ridden by Billy Garrity, who won the Scurrys on Strike Red a couple of years ago, and the training team scored with Perfect Pasture in 2016. In other news, the US Grade One highlight on Saturday night is the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, where the Preakness winner Journalism returns to action. Runner-up to Sovereignty in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont, Journalism takes on seven rivals in the $1 million Haskell Stakes over nine furlongs, off at 10.45pm Irish time and live on Sky. Californian trainer Bob Baffert is seeking a 10th Haskell victory with Goal Oriented lining up against Journalism.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'My scaly skin is constantly peeling and growing, I've been called a monster but I feel unique'
It took Nathalie Richert 13 years to get a diagnosis, as she is one of just 40 people worldwide with the rare condition that causes her skin to grow seven times faster than it should Nathalie Richert was born with ichthyosis with confetti (IWC), a rare skin condition that has just 40 reported cases across the world. She has faced discrimination, name-calling and was even asked to leave a waterpark as a child, but she embraces the condition, telling PA: 'I get a lot of love as a result. 'Many times people treat me really well because they feel sympathetic. Fine, it's because of my condition, but who cares! People who have everything get bullied and someone will always be mean. But don't care about them, enjoy your life. The world can be beautiful.' The 25-year-old from Kivik in Sweden explained that her red, dry and scaly skin grows at seven times the normal rate, making it peel almost constantly. The 'with confetti' part of her diagnosis means that her body is constantly trying to heal itself, leaving her with patches of normal skin dotted across in 'blossom' patterns. She was born with the condition, looking slightly purple at birth, but did not get a proper diagnosis until she was 13. Doctors often dismissed her condition as bacteria or thin skin. She recalled: 'I always knew I was different. 'When I was a kid, I could never do things other kids were doing, like sleepovers, because I'd have to do my skincare routine, and I was always in a lot of pain and very stiff.' During her school years, Nathalie was the victim of bullying with other children branding her a 'tomato', 'monster' or 'disgusting'. Because of the nature of her mother's work, the family moved often and Nathalie went to school in several different countries. In Spain, she found it was also the adults pointing at her, but she still has hope in humanity, looking to the brighter side: 'They may have just thought I was very sunburnt.' One of her biggest trials happened before her diagnosis when she was just 11-years-old. Nathalie went on a school trip to a water park but staff asked her to leave as other customers had complained that they did not want their children swimming in the same water as her. She said: 'I felt really sad when they said that. I felt like 'okay… why me? Why can't I be here?' To think that people didn't want to be swimming in the same water as me, that was very difficult.' Nathalie believes her challenging childhood has only made her more powerful, crediting her group of good friends too: 'I'm healthy apart from my condition, which I am very grateful for. Growing up has brought strength and I feel more powerful. I know my rights and I know how to take care of myself.' Alongside the skin symptoms, ICW also causes fatigue, joint pain and sometimes excruciating burning pain that leaves Nathalie spending entire days in a warm bath with Epsom salts trying to soothe it. She's also unable to absorb vitamin D and has to be on supplements. Eating sugar, wheat or dairy, and cold weather can trigger painful flares that make it hard for Nathalie just to get out of bed. The condition cannot be cured, but there are treatments to help manage individual symptoms. On a normal day, Nathalie's morning skin care routine takes around three hours including a bath, shower, scrub, two full body creams, eye drops and various other steps. But the former graphic designer refuses to let it hold her back. She said: 'We only live once, so I try to appreciate everything I have. I am very happy with my life. Conditions will make your life harder, people will say things, but they do not matter.' Nathalie really got to see the good side of humanity after sharing some photos of herself on a modelling Facebook group in 2022. Several photographers reached out and she even ended up giving back to the ICW community. She said: 'Someone whose daughter has the same condition got in touch, and that makes me very happy because I know how hard it was for my mother. I could reassure that lady that her daughter would grow up to be functional and healthy too, which was amazing. 'There are many moments when I have bad thoughts and feel insecure but, when I see those pictures, I do feel different, but I feel like I look cool and unique.'
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Police carry out road crime crackdown in Epsom and Ewell
Surrey Police have carried out a crackdown on road crime across Epsom and earlier this month, the joint operation was launched in direct response to growing concerns from residents regarding problems such as anti-social driving, speeding, nuisance quad bikes and illegal parking, the force said. It resulted in 90 traffic stops, 12 arrests, five weapons/drugs seizures, the impounding of 15 vehicles for having no licence or insurance and 32 fixed penalty notices being issued, Surrey Police Inspector, Dan Ayrton called the multi-agency effort "the largest operation of its kind", adding that the move "shows how seriously Surrey Police takes community concerns". Focusing on "hot spots" such as Epsom town centre, West Ewell and the Nonsuch Park area, six people were also reported for summons and two vehicles deemed unfit for the road due to having serious defects."This is the largest operation of its kind that we have carried out to tackle road crime and vehicle-related offending in Epsom and Ewell," said Mr Ayrton, adding that it was part of the government's wider plan to tackle anti-social behaviour."It shows our commitment to responding to and dealing with community concerns and is the first of many to deal with these issues," he said. He said that other boroughs will be part of Surrey Police's targeted response in the coming months.
