Johanna Walsh steps up to deliver effortless Irish Oaks win for Joseph O'Brien
Johanna Walsh, ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, on the way to winning the Juddmonte Irish Oaks (Fillies' Group 1) at The Curragh. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire.
Johanna Walsh proved a more than able deputy for her stablemate Thundering On as she ran out a facile winner of the Juddmonte Irish Oaks.
Thundering On blew her rivals away in the Oaks at Epsom last month and while she had since proved no match for top-class older mare Estrange in the Pretty Polly Stakes, she was well fancied to complete a Classic double on home soil, only to be declared a non-runner on Saturday morning.
Despite her absence, Joseph O’Brien still fired a twin assault in his bid for an Oaks double of his own, with Johanna Walsh – runner-up to the reopposing Earth Shot in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot last month – joined by the unbeaten Rebel Moon.
Johanna Walsh was a well backed 7-2 shot in the hands of Dylan Browne McMonagle and after tracking the Ballydoyle pacemakers into the home straight, she opened up from two furlongs down to leave the chasing pack trailing in her wake, with four lengths the winning margin.
David Menuisier’s French Oaks third Inis Mor was best of the rest in second ahead of Sparan Nua in third and Rebel Moon in fourth.
O’Brien said: “It was a huge performance from the filly and I thought Dylan gave her a fantastic ride because he controlled the whole race and had a very willing partner. He felt like he’d be able to do that from a mid-pack position and he really did.
“She came on the bridle between the three and the two (furlong markers). We knew that she’d love the fast ground and we felt like she was in good shape coming here.
“It’s really special to win a Classic here in Ireland. This is what we are in the game for and this is why we do what we do.
“We’ll enjoy today. She’s had a busy first part of the season. We’ll probably give her a little freshen up now and focus on an autumn campaign.” Of Thundering On, the trainer added: “She’ll be back in the autumn. She’s an exciting filly, it’s a pity we didn’t get to see her here today but we’ll have her back for the autumn.” McMonagle said: “That was unreal. She’s a filly with a lot of gears and when I pushed the button she put the race to bed in a couple of strides, so it wasn’t a bad substitute!
“I didn’t think there was a whole lot between this filly and Rebel Moon. This one has more experience and I think Rebel Moon is going to be open to more improvement towards the backend of the year, but this one was cherry-ripe for the day and she was unbelievable. It was push button stuff so a big well done to everyone.
“We had three good fillies in the race and every one had their chance of winning. Thundering On is obviously a little bit special, it’s hard to know what she would have done the way this one performed, but thankfully the way it worked out it was all in my favour.”
