Latest news with #JuddmonteIrishOaks
The 42
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Minnie Hauk makes it a Classic double with battling Curragh victory
IT MAY HAVE been more solid than spectacular, but Minnie Hauk eventually wore down Wemightakedlongway to avoid a shock and double her Classic tally in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh. The Frankel filly got the better of stablemate and subsequent Pretty Polly Stakes winner Whirl when landing the Oaks at Epsom in early June and was a prohibitively-priced 2-11 favourite to follow up against six rivals in the Irish equivalent. Advertisement MINNIE HAUK WINS THE JUDDMONTE IRISH OAKS! 🏆 An English and Irish Oaks double!#ITVRacing |@curraghrace — ITV Racing (@itvracing) July 19, 2025 Settled in third for much of the mile-and-a-half contest, with fellow Aidan O'Brien-trained runner Island Hopping deployed in a pacesetting role and Oaks and Pretty Polly fourth Wemightakedlongway splitting the pair in second, Minnie Hauk was under pressure to close the gap with two furlongs to go. Joseph O'Brien's Wemightakedlongway proved a willing adversary, but the red-hot favourite eventually took her measure and passed the post a length and a quarter in front under Ryan Moore to give O'Brien his eighth Irish Oaks success. Earlier, Arizona Blaze secured the biggest victory of his career to date in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes. Adrian Murray's charge has run a number of excellent races in top-class company, finishing on the podium in the Norfolk Stakes, Railway Stakes, Phoenix Stakes and at the Breeders' Cup last season, while just last month he finished a neck second to Time For Sandals in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. Also a dual Group Three winner, the Amo Racing-owned Arizona Blaze was a 9-4 joint-favourite for this Group Two assignment and having been positioned on the front end from the start David Egan, he finished off strongly to deny Ed Walker's hat-trick-seeking British raider Mgheera by two lengths.
Irish Independent
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Joseph O'Brien-trained Glen To Glen may be best bet at Curragh as Irish Oaks line-up fails to inspire
Aside from red-hot favourite Minnie Hauk, there is little to write home about in today's Juddmonte Irish Oaks (3.40) at the Kildare track with just seven runners contesting the €500,000 contest while O'Brien's brilliant filly is the only one of the septet to win last time out. Ryan Moore's mount bids to become the 16th filly to complete the Epsom-Curragh Oaks double and will achieve that feat barring an upset of epic proportions, with no overseas raiders also taking away some necessary spice. Fifteen raiders have landed this prize since 1999, but their absence should make it elementary for the daughter of Frankel, especially given that the form of her Epsom success has worked out nicely with runner-up Whirl (also her stablemate) winning the Group One Pretty Polly Stakes on her next start. A starting price around 1/6 makes this a prohibitive betting heat, though, as Minnie Hauk bids to follow in the famous footsteps of top-class fillies like Ouija Board (2004), Snow Fairy (2010) and Enable (2017) and O'Brien saddling a quartet of runners adds little appeal. The most likely surprise would come in the shape of Wemightakedlongway, which has just 6lbs to find with the market leader on official ratings, and Joseph O'Brien's charge did inflict the only defeat of Minnie Hauk's four-race career on her debut in Cork last October. Dylan Browne McMonagle's mount has been put firmly in the rear-view mirror since then, though, having finished fourth behind her at Epsom – before filling the same spot in the Pretty Polly – and it's nearly impossible to oppose the jolly en route to even bigger things later this season. The Group Two Gain Railway Stakes (2.35), which was controversially rerouted here from its traditional spot on Irish Derby day, is similarly uninspiring with just four going to post and only three trainers represented in a race with a star-studded roll of honour. Aidan O'Brien's True Love bids to become the first filly to take this event since Camargo in '98 and Moore will take some stopping aboard the daughter of No Nay Never after her stylish Queen Mary success at Royal Ascot last month. There are some other decent pattern contests to get stuck into across the weekend at the Curragh, but the best bet of the meeting may be the Joseph O'Brien-trained Glen To Glen in tomorrow's three-year-old handicap (3.05). He ran a cracker when fourth in a Royal Ascot handicap on his first start for the Kilkenny trainer and there is more to come from Browne McMonagle's mount off a mark of 90.
RTÉ News
19-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Minnie Hauk completes Classic double with Irish Oaks win
It may have been more solid than spectacular, but Minnie Hauk eventually wore down Wemightakedlongway to avoid a shock and double her Classic tally in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh. The Frankel filly got the better of stablemate and subsequent Pretty Polly Stakes winner Whirl when landing the Oaks at Epsom in early June and was a prohibitively-priced 2-11 favourite to follow up against six rivals in the Irish equivalent. Settled in third for much of the mile-and-a-half contest, with fellow Aidan O'Brien-trained runner Island Hopping deployed in a pacesetting role and Oaks and Pretty Polly fourth Wemightakedlongway splitting the pair in second, Minnie Hauk was under pressure to close the gap with two furlongs to go. Joseph O'Brien's Wemightakedlongway proved a willing adversary, but the red-hot favourite eventually took her measure and passed the post a length and a quarter in front under Ryan Moore to give O'Brien his eighth Irish Oaks success. Royal Ascot heroine True Love showed her male counterparts the way home with a scintillating display in the GAIN Railway Stakes at the co Kildare venue. Aidan O'Brien had saddled 14 previous winners of the Group Two contest, with Rock Of Gibraltar (2001), George Washington (2005) and last year's victor Henri Matisse (2024) among them, and it was significant his chief hope this time around was the sole filly in a field of four. Having filled the runner-up spot on her first two starts, True Love (1-2 favourite) was an impressive winner of the Queen Mary Stakes and followed up in fine style, travelling strongly under Ryan Moore before quickening five lengths clear of stable Puerto Rico with the minimum of fuss. Arizona Blaze secured the biggest victory of his career to date in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes. Adrian Murray's charge has run a number of excellent races in top-class company, finishing on the podium in the Norfolk Stakes, Railway Stakes, Phoenix Stakes and at the Breeders' Cup last season, while just last month he finished a neck second to Time For Sandals in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. Also a dual Group Three winner, the Amo Racing-owned Arizona Blaze was a 9-4 joint-favourite for this Group Two assignment and having been positioned on the front end from the start David Egan, he finished off strongly to deny Ed Walker's hat-trick-seeking British raider Mgheera by two lengths. Amo Racing supremo Kia Joorabchian said: "We've had a tough time at the Curragh. This guy deserved a big win, to be honest. "He's been second in a Breeders' Cup and second in a Group One at Royal Ascot, this was a well-placed race for him. "The ground was going a little bit softer than he'd like it because he likes really quick ground, but he just handled it very well. "He's never run a bad race really. Adrian and Robson (Aguiar) have done an amazing job with him in the past two years. "I probably have to thank Aidan (O'Brien) for not running a horse in this race!" He added: "The entire team at Amo, whether it's in the UK or here, needed this little boost. We've had a little bit of a tough start to the season, but it's been good. "You're in sport and I've been in sport all my life. Unfortunately in football it happens as well. You're going up for a big Champions League game and you get a hamstring, a knock or something goes wrong. You have to cope with those kind of moments and suck it in. "This year we've had a very big investment in Freemason Lodge and a very big investment across the globe. That investment has to still show itself. "We've had so many injuries this year - one after the other. We had a massive setback just recently with Ghostwriter, who unfortunately had an injury."
Irish Examiner
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Minnie Hauk makes it a Classic double with battling Curragh victory
It may have been more solid than spectacular, but Minnie Hauk eventually wore down Wemightakedlongway to avoid a shock and double her Classic tally in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh. The Frankel filly got the better of stablemate and subsequent Pretty Polly Stakes winner Whirl when landing the Oaks at Epsom in early June and was a prohibitively-priced 2-11 favourite to follow up against six rivals in the Irish equivalent. Settled in third for much of the mile-and-a-half contest, with fellow Aidan O'Brien-trained runner Island Hopping deployed in a pacesetting role and Oaks and Pretty Polly fourth Wemightakedlongway splitting the pair in second, Minnie Hauk was under pressure to close the gap with two furlongs to go. Joseph O'Brien's Wemightakedlongway proved a willing adversary, but the red-hot favourite eventually took her measure and passed the post a length and a quarter in front under Ryan Moore to give O'Brien his eighth Irish Oaks success.
Irish Examiner
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Minnie Hauk has little to do to complete double
The turnout for the Group 1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks, the feature of the weekend's action in the Curragh, is deeply disappointing, and leaves Epsom Oaks winner Minnie Hauk with little to do to complete the double. Aidan O'Brien's filly was promising last season and has improved with both outings this season, culminating in that narrow success from stablemate Whirl in the British Classic. The form received a nice boost when the runner-up won the Pretty Polly at the Curragh, and if this filly runs to the same form as at Epsom, she will follow up. Wemightakedlongway was five and a quarter-lengths behind the selection in the Oaks and will do well to narrow that gap. That said, she rates the only plausible challenger and her trainer, Joseph O'Brien, has his team in top form. The nap goes to Extravagant, who can get off the mark in the Lavazza Sprint Nursery. Aidan O'Brien's twice-raced colt was quite green on debut but ran a good race to finish second to Green Soul, and while he was beaten favourite on his second outing, it appeared as though the step up to seven furlongs caught him out. Back to six for his first handicap, he can make a winning start off his mark of 83. Old rival Bobby McGee, who has twice finished just behind him, can follow him home. He showed improved form last time and that looks good enough to ensure he goes close here. Al Riffa can record his first win of the season by taking the Group 2 Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup. Joseph O'Brien's five-year-old has done plenty of travelling and this will be his first run in Ireland since finishing second in the International Stakes at this track in 2023. Last time out, at the Royal meeting in Ascot, he posted a huge effort to finish runner-up to Rebel Romance in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes and, at this stage of his career, it looks as though he will appreciate the step up to today's one-mile-six trip. He is conceding weight to all of his rivals but has a class edge and can make it count. On Sunday's card, the Mark Prescott-trained Tasmania can build on a promising return from a long lay-off by taking the Group 3 Al Shira'aa Racing Meadow Court Stakes. The five-year-old has clearly had plenty of issues, but she made her comeback, after almost a year off, in a Group 3 on Newcastle's all-weather track and caught the eye with her runner-up finish. Bound to be better for the run, and sure to appreciate the bit of ease in the ground, she can make the trip across the Irish Sea a profitable one. Tommy Lyons' picks: CURRAGH (Saturday) 1:30 Seoul Force 2:00 Big Gossey 2:35 Puerto Rico 3:05 Powerful Nation 3:40 Minnie Hauk 4:15 Al Riffa (nb) 4:50 Extravagant (nap) 5:25 Shelbiana Next best 1:30 Action 2:00 Heavenly Power 2:35 Power Blue 3:05 Mgheera 3:40 Wemightakedlongway 4:15 Shackelton 4:50 Bobby McGee 5:25 Proxima Centauri CURRAGH (Sunday) 1:20 Saint Agatha 1:55 Empress Artemis 2:30 Tasmania (nap) 3:05 Lady In Paris 3:40 Room Service 4:15 Desert Power 4:50 Edelak (nb) 5:25 Sunlight Dance Next best 1:20 You'll Think Of Me 1:55 Spicy Margarita 2:30 One Look 3:05 Valorous Power 3:40 Diego Velazquez 4:15 Bille Be Quick 4:50 Light As Air 5:25 Treasure Rose
