Ireland has not traditionally been a happy hunting ground for William Haggas, who has trained a grand total of three winners there since he sent his first runner over in 1994. But the Newmarket man flies over for Saturday’s Irish Oaks with high hopes of getting his second bit of Group One glory there this year, which would put him one ahead of the man who traditionally dominates events at The Curragh, Aidan O’Brien.
Three weeks ago, O’Brien had three fancied runners for the Pretty Polly but all were bested by Haggas’s 9-1 rag, Urban Fox. This time he is taking over Sea Of Class, who has been brought along steadily but is now thought to be ready for a first tilt at the best of her generation.
Strictly speaking, the step up from Listed level ought to be a big one but Haggas feels it may not prove to be so. “I’m sort-of of the opinion that I’m not convinced about the three-year-olds that have been running so far,” he said on Friday.
“I think they’re a decent group but I’m not sure they’re outstanding. I know the Eclipse was dominated by three-year-olds but the older ones that took them on weren’t any good. I may well be proved wrong but I think they’re all a little bit much of a muchness.”
He points out how unconvincing are some of the form lines for Saturday’s Classic, for which the favourite is O’Brien’s Magic Wand. She was beaten by her stablemate, Forever Together, in the Oaks at Epsom but Forever Together then succumbed to Urban Fox. Magic Wand, meanwhile, looked a good horse once more at Royal Ascot.
“It’s all suggesting that we’re not without hope,” is Haggas’s conclusion and the betting market agrees, making Sea Of Class the 5-2 second-favourite. “She’s had a nice break and trained very well. It really couldn’t have gone smoother for us, this time.
“She’s a very good worker, a very generous worker, she does it every time. We took her to the racecourse on the first morning of the July meeting, early in the morning, and she worked beautifully.”
While Sea Of Class remains unbeaten since her debut, there may be some who entertain doubts about her temperament after seeing the closing stages of her latest race, in which she swished her tail when asked to make her effort. Her jockey, James Doyle, ascribed it to her being “feisty” and noted that it certainly did not undermine her finishing effort.
Haggas, at any rate, has no doubts about her; on the contrary, he is convinced of her will to win. “She’s always done that,” he said of the tail-swishing. “I think she’s as hard as nails.”
She will need to be, as this race involves a step up in distance as well as in class and her trainer expects there will be an end-to-end gallop. But he is not particularly worried about being the latest victim of a tactical masterclass by O’Brien, who has three runners. “Everyone talks about that but, at the end of the day, if your horse is good enough, your horse is good enough and that’s the end of it.”
Market Rasen 1.35 Stole The Show 2.05 Mystic Sky 2.40 Included
3.15 Calett Mad (nap) 3.50 Champagne City 4.25 Dreamcatching
5.00 Atlantic Storm
Newbury 1.50 Fajjaj 2.25 Hochfeld 3.00 Invincible Army (nb)
3.35 Tin Hat 4.10 Wise Counsel 4.45 Homeopathic 5.20 Amazour
Cartmel 1.55 Mac Tottie 2.30 Candy Burg 3.05 Uptown Funk
3.40 Alys Rock 4.15 Bambi Du Noyer 4.50 Oriental Fixer
5.25 David’s Phoebe
Newmarket 2.15 California Love 2.45 Dramatic Queen 3.25 Mr Wagyu
4.00 Vintager 4.35 Major Partnership 5.10 Rogue 5.40 Breath Caught
Ripon 2.20 Pair Of Savannas 2.55 Eljayeff 3.30 Indomeneo
4.05 Appointed 4.40 Shouranour 5.15 Ad Libitum 5.50 Se You
Lingfield 5.45 Ashazuri 6.15 Rare 6.45 Timoshenko 7.15 Porto Ferro
7.45 Raskolnikov 8.15 Fearless Warrior 8.45 Dear Bruin
Haydock 6.00 Humbolt Current 6.30 Line Of Duty 7.00 Salsabeel
7.30 Outcrop 8.00 Ingleby Hollow 8.30 Flying Foxy
