While we all wait for next year’s Cheltenham Festival, attention now turns to who will be triumphant at Epsom in June.
The Oaks and the Derby both promise to be great races but who is likely to come out on top in these historic classics?
June 6 sees the Epsom Oaks take place at the Surrey racecourse.
Frontrunners
Desert Flower is the current favourite and will be attempting to complete the 1000 Guineas and Oaks double. The three-year-old is trained by Charlie Appleby who will be bidding to win the one-and-a-half mile race for the first time.
Desert Flower has won all five of her races and all but two have been in group company. Her biggest success as a two-year-old was when winning the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket. That was won on good to soft ground so any June downpours wouldn’t be bad news for Desert Flower.
Good to firm ground wouldn’t be a concern either as those were the conditions in which the Charlie Appelby runner won the 1000 Guineas.
Aidan O’Brien runs Minnie Hawk who is 10/1 to win the race as per horse.bet. Two of her tree races have been won and the three-year-old recently won the Cheshire Oaks.
That was run over a mile-and-three-and-a-half furlongs so that shows the filly has the stamina to win at Epsom.
The second favourite for the Epsom Oaks among UK horse betting sites is Falakeyah and available at odds of 10/1.
Trained by Owen Burrows, Falakeyah didn’t make her debut until last November by which time most of her rivals had already established their reputations.
Her debut wasn’t on turf but the all-weather at Wolverhampton. This year has seen her turf debut take place and the ten-furlong Pretty Polly Stakes was won at Newmarket.
Will this filly make it to post though? A mile-and-a-half may well be too far for this contender at this point of her career and there has been talk of switching her back to a mile.
The Derby
Once the Oaks has been run, the following day sees the Epsom Derby being held. Just as was the case at Cheltenham, it’s an Irish trainer who seems to hold the best cards for this June 7 classic.
The past two years have both seen Aidan O’Brien train the winner. Last year it was City of Troy who defied his critics and won the Epsom Derby.
This time around, it’s The Lion in Winter who O’Brien hopes will give him a record-extending 11th win of this race.
It wouldn’t be the first time that O’Brien has won this race three times in a row. He did so between 2012 and 2014.
The Lion in Winter is the 7/2 favourite and won both of his races as a two-year-old and that included a win over Ruling Court who recently won the 2000 Guineas. His sire was Sea the Stars who was victorious in this race 16 years ago.
If Charlie Appleby does win the Oaks with Desert Flower, then he’ll be going for a double with Ruling Court. It’s 4/1 that the 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby double can be achieved by the three-year-old.
He lost by two-and-a quarter-lengths to The Lion in Winter at York as a two-year-old. That was a race run over seven furlongs, so he could well reverse form over this longer distance.
Aidan O’Brien Dominates
Just like Willie Mullins, Aidan O’Brien doesn’t go into a big race with just one major contender. He has several potential runners in this race and that includes Delacroix who is 8/1 to win the 2025 Epsom Derby.
The winner of two Group 3 races has already achieved success in 2025 and over ten furlongs. One of the fascinating factors in the Epsom Derby is just how runners will fare over a longer distance.
Will the additional furlongs prove to be an Achilles heel? Or will it bring out even more improvement? Delacroix could well fit into the latter option as his sire is Dubawi whose prodigy already includes an Oaks winner.
O’Brien also runs Lambourn and this runner recently won the Chester Vase only a-mile-and-four-and-a-half furlongs. We know now that he will last out the Epsom Derby distance and that’s always a plus factor.
He is available at odds of 25/1 to win the Epsom Derby and that certainly looks good each-way value if going to post.
The same applies to the unbeaten Twain who is also trained by O’Brien and is 8/1 to win this classic.
It’s going to be an exciting start to the month of June. New stars will be made and probably some reputations damaged.
Will it be another big weekend for Aidan O’Brien? Only time will tell.
