Ballydoyle team buoyed by Oaks hopefuls
O’Brien has already trained Shahtoush (1998), Imagine (2001) and Alexandrova (2006) to win the Classic, and this time has four runners, with outsiders Eirnin and Why joining their better-fancied stable companions.
Wonder Of Wonders impressed when winning Chester’s Cheshire Oaks last month, while Misty For Me is on a Classic double having triumphed in the Irish 1,000 Guineas less than a fortnight ago.
“Wonder Of Wonders is a filly who is bred to do it and we were very happy with her in Chester. It would be wrong not to let her take her chance,” said O’Brien.
“We always thought Misty For Me could be an Oaks filly and the plan was always to go for the two Guineas and step her up in trip after that.
“Looking at her at the Curragh you would imagine she’ll definitely get a mile and a quarter, but you can’t be sure with a mile and a half until you run.
“It would be wrong not to let her run as well.
“Why is a filly we always thought a lot of and we always thought she was better than she ran. She has a great pedigree and she’s well.
“Eirnin is a Galileo filly we always liked as well. She won her maiden at Navan and we’d be expecting plenty of improvement from her run at Naas.
“They are very well-bred fillies and when we feel they could be good enough, we always think it is wrong not to let them take their chance.”
The Ballydoyle handler dismissed any suggestions 100-1 shots Eirnin and Why were in the field as pacemakers.
“I’d imagine Joseph (O’Brien) will take his time on his filly (Eirnin) and Mickael (Barzalona) will do the same on his (Why). We want to give them every chance of running well,” O’Brien added.
Another Irish challenger, Siren’s Song, impressed when winning a Navan Listed race in April.
“I’m very happy with the filly and the plan after Navan was always to come here,” said trainer Jessica Harrington.
“She’s only had two runs and is quite inexperienced, but we like her a lot and are looking forward to the race.”
