Gosdens following tried-and-tested route as Danielle bids to show she's up to Classic standard in Oaks Trial

Classic trials are always difficult punting mediums with a scarcity of form on offer and the potenital for horses to take giant strides forward from run to run. Although with connections and pedigree in mind, it is easy to understand why Danielle is so strong in the initial market.

However, John and Thady Gosden are going the Anapurna route with Danielle as she teed herself up for Epsom glory by landing this trial in 2019. The yard’s other recent Oaks heroines, Enable (2017) and Soul Sister (2023), booked their Classic ticket with successes in trials at Chester and York.

Danielle probably has the best form in the line-up by virtue of her impressive 12-length Wetherby strike over 1m2f recently. By Cracksman and a three-parts sister to the yard’s Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami, further progress can be teased out for this longer trip.

The Gosden yard bids for its fourth victory in Lingfield’s trial since 2017, while Aidan O’Brien, the other modern-day Oaks powerhouse, cannot boast the same record in this race. Seventh Heaven (2016) is his only scorer since 2005.

He saddles the other exceptionally bred runner in the contest as Rubies Are Red is Arc queen Found’s sister. Rubies Are Red remains a maiden, but a high-class one in a race where nothing particularly stands out bar Danielle.

Ralph Beckett’s pair Treasure and You Got To Me are difficult to split in the early betting after notching autumn maiden successes. Jockey bookings fail to highlight a discernible pecking order.

The yard’s horses have been needing their returns and it will be interesting to see how these two compare with Beckett’s recent Cheshire Oaks winner Forest Fairy, who had a previous run this year.

Outsiders Bigtime Bridget and Cherry Burton are rated only 80 and 77, but the 2021 running was fought out by fillies with pre-race BHA marks of 84 and 85. The mere act of jeopardising a potentially outstanding handicap mark must always be noted.
Race analysis by Robbie Wilders

'We're going there to see if she is an Epsom filly or not'

Danielle faces an acid test to see if she can handle the Epsom-like undulations of the Surrey circuit in a bid to firm up her credentials for the Betfred Oaks.

The daughter of Cracksman is out to add her name to the Clarehaven roll of honour in the Epsom warm-up, which last hosted the Oaks winner when Anapurna powered home for John Gosden in 2019 off the back of a win at Wolverhampton.

As is the way this season, Classic contenders and winners have come from beginnings at lesser venues and Danielle could be following suit after a reappearance defeat at a morning meeting at Chelmsford before a 12-length romp at a Sunday fixture at Wetherby.

It was a striking enough performance to promote her to a general 8-1 second favourite for the Oaks on May 31, with Aidan O'Brien's Fillies' Mile winner Ylang Ylang the market leader at 11-4.

Joint-trainer John Gosden said: “Danielle has to prove she handles a track like Lingfield as all her running up to now has been on flat tracks. Lingfield is very much a test of that factor and we’ll see how she goes, but she should have no problem with the step up in trip as she is a sister to our Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami.”

He added: “We’re going there to see if she is an Epsom filly or not and it was either this or wait for the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot. She’s a light-framed filly, so you wouldn’t want to do both even with a 20-day gap this year.

“She’s learning a lot and she's coming on a lot. This will be a challenge for her.“

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John Gosden: "This will be a challenge for her"Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Rubies Are Red needs to improve for O'Brien

Rubies Are Red has yet to shed her maiden tag in two starts and doing so in the Lingfield Oaks Trial would be a stylish way to do it.

Brilliance is in her family as she is a sister to Arc heroine Found, and if she can find a bit more on her third start she could be one of the main contenders to serve it up to favourite Danielle.

It is something of a plan B for the filly, a top-priced 50-1 with Coral for the Oaks, after she missed an outing at Chester on Wednesday.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien said: "She's still a maiden and she's still only a baby. We do think she's a nice filly, but we think she will learn loads from the experience."

What they say

Michael Bell, trainer of Bigtime Bridget
It’s a bit of a leap of faith, but I think she will improve for the step up to middle distances this year and hope she can be competitive.

Sean Woods, trainer of Cherry Burton
She won well at Doncaster last time and is a progressive filly. She’s trained very well since than and I don’t expect her to be disgraced despite stepping up in class.

Karl Burke, trainer of Molten Rock
She's got a bit to prove at this level but she wants a mile and a half and it's a chance for some black type.

Alex Elliott, spokesman for Valmont, part-owners of You Got To Me
Ralph Beckett has had this in mind for her first run of the season since last year and she is bred to improve for the trip. She showed a lot of talent at two and we hope she has taken a step up on that as a three-year-old.
Reporting by David Milnes

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