Runner-by-runner guide to the pedigrees of the Darley Irish Oaks field

1. Bye Bye Baby
Galileo - RememberWhen (Danehill Dancer)
Breeder Remember When Syndicate

One of three runners representing the all-conquering Galileo, who will equal the record of his own breed-shaping sire, Sadler's Wells, of 73 Group/Grade 1 winners should Bye Bye Baby prevail.

While Bye Bye Baby may be the least likely winner of his trio, anything by Galileo is discounted at your peril.

She boasts a strong female line too, as her dam Remember When, who finished second in Snow Fairy's Oaks, has produced four winners all by Galileo, including Group 3 winner Beacon Rock - whose best effort on Racing Post Ratings (RPRs) came over 1m4f, suggesting that the trip won't prove Bye Bye Baby's undoing.

There is plenty of Classic form in the family, as her dam is closely related to Dylan Thomas and Homecoming Queen, as well as being a half-sister to the much more precocious Queen's Logic, winner of the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes.

View full Darley Irish Oaks racecard and form

2. Forever Together
Galileo - Green Room (Theatrical)
Vimal And Gillian Khosla

One of Galileo's 72 top-flight winners having landed the Oaks, Forever Together is also one of three elite winners bred by Vimal and Gillian Khosla out of Green Room.

The unraced Theatrical mare has produced seven winners from eight runners, headed by her first foal Lord Shanakill, whose career highlight came in the 2009 Prix Jean Prat, while Green Room's sixth foal is Together Forever - a Galileo sister to the similarly named Forever Together - who landed the Fillies' Mile and brought the curtain down on her career with a creditable fourth behind Covert Love in the 2015 Irish Oaks.

This is a pedigree rich in elite performers, as Green Room is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Spanish Fern, to the dam of Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap winner Heatseeker, and to the granddam of Gran Criterium scorer Hearts Of Fire.

She is in turn out of Chain Fern, a sister to Al Bahathri, winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the dam of 2,000 Guineas and Champion Stakes hero Haafhd. The likes of Big Orange and Red Cadeaux also feature further back on her page.

With such a deep pedigree and the physical to match it is no wonder she cost Coolmore €900,000 from Goffs in 2016.

Forever Together, one of 72 Group/Grade 1 winners by Galileo, lands the OaksCredit: Edward Whitaker

3. Magic Wand
Galileo - Prudenzia (Dansili)
Ecurie Des Monceaux & Skymarc Farm

Galileo has already sired two Irish Oaks winners, scoring with Seventh Heaven in 2016 and before that with Great Heavens in 2012, and Magic Wand looks the likeliest of this year's three runners to supply his third - and 73rd top-level winner.

Should she prevail that would not be the only milestone reached, as she is a closely related sister to Chicquita, who won the Irish Oaks herself in 2013.

Bred in partnership by leading French nursery Ecurie des Monceaux and Lady O'Reilly's Skymarc Farm, she cost owners Coolmore and Markus Jooste a cool €1.4 million at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in 2016.

While that price was enough to top that particular sale, it pales in comparison to the €6m Coolmore paid to buy Chicquita from Goffs some four months after her Classic triumph.

Prudenzia has been something of an equine cash machine for her owners, as she has had four yearlings sell for seven-figures at Arqana, while Chicquita was originally sold for €600,000 and last year's yearling - a filly by Galileo - was sold to Magic Wand's connections for €950,000.

A big price-tag is no guarantee of big talent, but with an easy win in the Ribblesdale Stakes already in the bag, Magic Wand could be about to prove that she was worth every penny.

4. Mary Tudor
Dawn Approach - Antiquities (Kaldounevees)
Darley

One of four stakes winners by sophomore sire Dawn Approach, Mary Tudor is a half-sister to the useful Ancient History and minor winner Turning Times. She is out of a Group 3-placed daughter of Kaldounevees, a high-class miler whose greatest achievement as damsire came when supplying Melbourne Cup hero Dunaden.

There are Classic clues further back in her pedigree, as her third dam is the great Helen Street, winner of the 1985 Irish Oaks and the dam of Street Cry and Helsinki, the dam of Shamardal.

However, the last ten fillies to land the Irish Oaks recorded a winning RPR of between 112 (Bracelet, 2014) and 123 (Sariska, 2009), so her own career-best of 104 leaves her requiring significant improvement. It is also worth considering that Dawn Approach is yet to supply a runner rated higher than 110 (Court House).

Mary Tudor wins the Listed Salsabil Stakes at NavanCredit: Alain Barr

5. Romiyna
Nathaniel - Rose Quartz (Lammtarra)
the Aga Khan

Nathaniel already has one Irish Oaks winner among his tally of 20 stakes performers, although it seems highly unlikely that his representative this year will prove to be in the same league as that filly, Enable, was.

She does, however, boast a solid pedigree, and with stamina assured and an unexposed profile it is not out of the question she could reach the frame.

She is a sibling to six winners, most notably dual Group 2 scorer Rajsaman, who went on to sire French Guineas and Derby hero Brametot. She is also a half-sister to Listed winners Rosawa - dam of Prix Marcel Boussac winner Rosanara - and Radanpour.

6. Sea Of Class
Sea The Stars - Holy Moon (Hernando)
Razza Del Velino

If Galileo doesn't equal his sire's record of top-level winners at the Curragh on Saturday it may be his high-achieving half-brother, Sea The Stars, who foils him.

The son of Cape Cross is well capable of supplying a top-class runner, and is already responsible for eight Group 1 winners, including Taghrooda, Harzand and Stradivarius.

While Sea Of Class will have to prove her stamina on Saturday, it is worth noting that Sea The Stars' offspring have a 39 per cent strike rate over trips between 12f and 13f and a 37 per cent strike rate on good to firm ground.

Sea Of Class (yellow) is bidding to become the ninth Group 1 winner sired by Sea The StarsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Sea Of Class's female line is another source of optimism, as she is out of a Listed-winning daughter of Hernando, a noted source of stamina, and is a half-sister to two Group 1-winning fillies in Charity Line and Final Score, both of whom won the 1m2f Premio Lydia Tesio and the Italian Oaks - a race her other half-sister, Cherry Collect, also won.

Despite a cracking pedigree, Sea Of Class was bought on behalf of the Tsui family - who also bred Sea The Stars - for the relatively bargain sum of 170,000gns.

7. Tissiak
Fastnet Rock - Belesta (Xaar)
Rockhart Trading Ltd

Fastnet Rock has supplied 246 stakes performers, including 85 Group winners, although on all known form Tissiak does not look one of his leading lights.

Admittedly she seems likely to stay the Oaks trip, being a half-sister to Assign - a Group 2 winner over 1m4f in Australia - and Giuseppe Piazzi - a Group 3 winner over the same trip in Denmark - but whether she has the requisite class remains to be seen.

Her dam is a half-sister to Group 3 winner In Clover, in turn the dam of We Are and this year's Prix Saint-Alary runner-up With You, while the likes of Es Que Love, Zhui Feng and Teppal also appear further down the page.

Verdict

It will take a mighty performance to deny Galileo a third Irish Oaks - and potentially a 73rd top-level winner - but Sea Of Class has always looked a filly destined for big things and with a pedigree that suggests she will keep on improving this late-May foal can spoil the perennial champion sire's party.

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