'She has a mile and a half written all over her' - Menuisier keeps Oaks option on the table for Heartache Tonight

David Menuisier and owner Chris Wright will consider a crack at the Betfred Oaks with Heartache Tonight, a half-sister to the same connections' dual Group 1 winner Wonderful Tonight, if the ground came up soft at Epsom.

Heartache Tonight's three starts have all come in France, and the daughter of Recorder gave every indication she was ready for a step up to a mile and a half when rallying bravely to be fourth behind Jannah Rose in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp on Sunday.

While Menuisier considers Heartache Tonight may be slightly less dependent on cut in the ground than her celebrated sibling, he will still require a wet May to turn into a wet June before giving her the green light to run in the Oaks, for which she is a general 33-1 chance.

Heartache Tonight finished hot on the heels of Elusive Princess and Crown Princesse, just as she had in her first start of the season in the Prix Cleopatre at Saint-Cloud.

"The form of the Prix Cleopatre is great and she did exactly the same [at Longchamp], only better," said Menuisier. "They kind of ran a sprint and she hit a flat spot. She looked like she was getting swamped and then she picked up and went again, which is a lovely trait. It shows that she has a mile and a half written all over her."

With the Saint-Alary having been advanced by two weeks in this year's calendar, Epsom has become a distinct possibility if the rain hangs around.

"I think if we have a soft-ground Oaks we are likely to go," said Menuisier. "If that’s not the case, I’ll put her away and bring her back for the autumn.

"We could use the same route as for her sister; the Prix Minerve, the Vermeille and then races like the Arc, the Champion Fillies and Mares, or the Royallieu. I think she can go to the top level."

Wonderful Tonight won Group 1s at Longchamp and Ascot in 2020 and was on quite the roll in 2021 before injury forced her retirement when being prepared for the Arc. Menuisier believes plenty of the same quality is there in Heartache Tonight when granted the family preference for a soft surface.

"It’s smashing because the ground here is not too bad," he said. "With an extra couple of showers she would have been even closer. The winner is very good, but we’ve finished very close again to the others from Saint-Cloud and this was a real Group 1, not a weak one.

"I’m proud of her because she is still very inexperienced."

Betfred Oaks (4.30 Epsom, June 2)

Coral: 6-4 Savethelastdance, 7 Infinite Cosmos, Running Lion, 8 Never Ending Story, 14 Bluestocking, Electric Eyes, 16 Azazat, Eternal Hope, 25 bar

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