Saturday: Juddmonte Irish Oaks, Curragh

For a fleeting moment it looked like it might be child’s play for Toy and Aidan O’Brien, but ultimately one of Irish racing’s most celebrated veterans walked away with an overdue first win in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks.

Jessica Harrington has become the finest dual-purpose trainer in racing since first taking out a licence in 1989, but Magical Lagoon was providing her with just a second Irish Classic when producing a performance of class and sheer toughness under Shane Foley to narrowly hold off Toy.

Oaks runner-up Emily Upjohn may not have graced us with her presence due to transport difficulties, but chances are that the ding-dong finish that emerged was helped by the absence of the Gosden-trained filly, an odds-on favourite when she was withdrawn on Friday.

When the news emerged, Harrington admitted that she felt the increased pressure, as the Zhang Yuesheng-owned filly, a game winner of last month’s Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, was immediately catapulted to short-priced favouritism.

“I was terrified when I heard the news,” she joked. “With Emily Upjohn in the race we felt we were the underdog and I love being the underdog.”

It is clear, though, that Harrington has an improving filly on her hands, quite a different sort to Alpha Centauri, her previous Irish Classic winner in the 2018 1,000 Guineas, but not lacking in heart and still relatively unexposed.

Harrington added: “It’s only her third run this year and I would say she will improve again. And if she stays in training next year she could be a fabulous filly.”

Magical Lagoon got a nice lead from outsider Show Of Stars and was there to be shot at from the two-furlong pole once getting to the front. Cairde Go Deo threatened to throw down a real challenge, and when she began to fade the Ryan Moore-ridden Toy produced a more persistent threat that lasted to the line.

Foley was not to be denied, though, and the daughter of Galileo kept finding for pressure, holding on by half a length with Cairde Go Deo two and three-quarter lengths away in third.

“She’s such a game filly, she always just does enough and she is a wonderful filly to train for Mr Zhang,” said Harringon. “During the race I was concerned about who was behind us. I knew she would keep finding like she did at Ascot, although they probably did not go as quickly here as they did that day. She’s in the Yorkshire Oaks and we’ll see from there.”

‘The other filly just kept battling’

Runner-up Toy was backed down to 5-1 second favourite on her first try at the trip and she saw it out well. It was one of those races that could have turned out differently on another day.

O’Brien pointed out that nothing had gone right for the filly on her travels to France earlier in the summer for their 1,000 Guineas and Oaks. Here, with clear passage, she showed what she was capable of.

O’Brien said: “She kept staying, but the other filly just kept battling. We’re delighted. We always felt she was a mile-and-a-quarter filly who could get a mile and a half and that is what she did today. She will have an option of going to Goodwood for the Nassau Stakes, but we’ll see how she is.”

 

Shane Foley celebrates getting the better of Ryan Moore on Toy with victory on Magical Lagoon - Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Cairde Go Deo came into the race with a not dissimilar profile to Even So, the Ger Lyons-trained winner of this race in 2020, and the trainer was delighted with a run that flirted with possible victory at about the two-furlong pole.

Lyons’ reaction to the news of Emily Upjohn’s withdrawal had been rather different to that of Harrington.

“With her coming over, my thought was that this race was going to be hotter than we thought,” he said. “Then when she was withdrawn we thought we have a chance here and you are nearly disappointed to finish third! But she’s run a blinder and she put her head down.”

Lyons added: ”To be honest, my thinking was that we were not going to be able to reverse places with Jessie’s filly from their meeting at Navan, and then they backed Toy off the boards and that tells its own story.

“Colin [Keane] said he got excited for a second or two, but in the end she has run with great credit. It is a huge leap from Listed to Group 1. I’m delighted for her. No matter how strong or weak a Group 1 it was, she turned up, ran her race and was placed.”

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