Sea of Class sets sail for a crack at the Irish Oaks

Sea Of Class can take a big step up in quality in her stride on Saturday by winning the Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh.

She is the only overseas runner in a field of seven but British-trained fillies have an excellent record in the race, winning it six times in the past 10 years through Sariska, Snow Fairy, Blue Bunting, Great Heavens, Covert Love and, last year, Enable, who went on to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Sea Of Class is not in their class yet but, being a late foal, William Haggas has taken his time with her, missing Epsom and Royal Ascot as part of a plan to target this race. The trainer has been impressed by her physical improvement since she won the Listed Johnnie Lewis Memorial at Newbury in early June.

It is not the trainer’s modus operandi to over-race his horses, so the obvious inference is that he believes she has what it takes. Her biggest dangers appear to be the Epsom Oaks winner, Forever Together, who Haggas has subsequently beaten over a mile and a quarter with Urban Fox, and the Ribblesdale winner, Magic Wand.

At Newbury, horses who cost £60,000 or less get the chance to race for at least twice that amount in the Weatherbys Super Sprint. Karl Burke, who does very well with his two-year-old fillies, sends Little Kim south from Middleham. She won well at Carlisle, was not disgraced in the Queen Mary from a difficult draw but has since won a Group Three in France.

However, were she to win, it would be a weight-carrying record for the race and, at the prices, the Charlie Fellowes-trained Snazzy might be a decent each-way shot. She won on debut and was not far away from the subsequent Queen Mary winner, Signora Cabello, at York next time out.

Snazzy also ran in the Queen Mary but not only got baulked coming out of the stalls but was found to be in season, so you can put a line through that effort. She can continue to be a fun filly for Highclere’s first female-only syndicate.

The laws of supply and demand have been satisfied with the first running of the JLT Cup, a £100,000 two-mile handicap, at Newbury.

With some very valuable staying handicaps, such as the Ebor, Cesarewitch and Melbourne Cup, on the horizon, trainers wanted the programme for this type of horse beefed up. The British Horseracing Authority’s development fund has contributed £30,000 to the prize fund and a full field of 18 will go to post.

Bookmakers will doubtless take no chances with the Willie Mullins-trained Stratum but I prefer Hughie Morrison’s Buzz. All three of his wins have come at Kempton but the extra half mile can help him prove he is not just an all-weather horse.