The highest number of runners in more than a decade are set to tackle the Irish Oaks as a stack of form lines come together at the Curragh on Saturday.
A bumper field of 14 have been declared to go to post at 15:40 including the first and second in the Ribblesdale Stakes, Port Fairy and Lava Stream, and the third in last month’s Pretty Polly Stakes, Content.
Hanalia is looking to become the first winner of the Naas Oaks Trial to complete the double since Even So in 2020, while War Chimes, You Got To Me and Caught U Looking will put the Epsom Oaks form to the test after placing third, fourth and fifth respectively in the English equivalent.
Irish Oaks odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise key historical trends from the last 10 renewals and a tip based off the big-race stats are below.
Irish Oaks trends
COURSE FORM
Just three winners had previously tackled the Curragh – Snowfall (2021) had raced there on four occasions – which suggests it is worth taking a closer look at course debutants.
Caught U Looking, Content and Hanalia are the only course winners in the line up.
DISTANCE FORM
A previous crack at the 12-furlong trip is a trend met by seven winners and all of those had previously scored over the distance.
Port Fairy and You Got To Me are the only horses in the field with a previous success over 1m4f.
FLAT FORM
The ill-fated Snowfall (2021) was the most exposed of the last 10 winners with nine previous runs under her hooves. Otherwise, every winner had between three to five career starts on the level.
GROUP FORM
Just six winners had previously landed Group honours, although the four that had failed to score at the higher levels at least boasted a Listed success on their CV.
LAST TIME OUT
Savethelastdance (2023) and Seventh Heaven (2016) were the only winners that failed to score on the previous outing. You also want to look for a horse that is returning off a break of between 14 and 50 days.
One of the hype horses heading into the race, the Willie Mullins-trained Lope De Lilas for big-spending owners Wathnan Racing, was last seen on track 69 days ago.
ODDS
The favourite in Paddy Power’s betting for the Irish Oaks has won the last three renewals, while six of the previous 10 winners could be found in the top two in the market.
RATING
If you put a line through the 98-rated Seventh Heaven (2016) and 103-rated Even So (2020) then every winner has run off an official mark of 107 or higher.
Only Content, Dare To Dream and War Chimes sit above the 107 line.
SEASON FORM
Every winner had at least two runs and one win for the season before striking at the Curragh, while eight of those had three runs and two wins.
Content has failed to score in three outings this term.
Irish Oaks trends verdict
Ryan Moore has chosen to partner Content but the Pretty Polly third would have to defy a stack of trends to win the Irish Oaks and the nod is given to stablemate PORT FAIRY, who meets the bulk of the key trends.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
Saturday’s Racing Tips
- Ruby Walsh’s horse racing tips for the Curragh on Irish Oaks day
- Rory Delargy’s Curragh tips for Irish Oaks day
Read More on the Irish Oaks 2024
- When is the Irish Oaks? Curragh date, start time, runners and betting
- Irish Oaks tips and runner-by-runner guide to Curragh 3.40 on Saturday
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