Aidan O’Brien landed his tenth Cheshire Oaks after Amelia Earhart’s success on Wednesday. The daughter of Frankel sat third on the rail throughout, later travelling up smartly under Ryan Moore. Moore angled out off the bend and kicked immediately, staying on strongly before fending off I’m The One. The second has subsequently lost her position as Oaks favourite, however greenness and a failure to perform on the track suggests she can’t be discounted.
Aidan O’Brien won the race with Minnie Hauk last season, the first leg of an Oaks quadruple. Speaking to the Press Association after the race, via Racing TV, Ryan Moore said: “We always thought she was a good filly and she’s by Camelot and from a family we know well. A mile and a half suited her. She handled the track and handled the ground and did everything right and gave me the perfect feel the whole way. It was the perfect Epsom trial.”
Despite being fitted with the unusual combination of a hood and blinkers, the Camelot filly looked professional throughout. Paul Smith, part of the Coolmore contingent, said: “She was always a lovely juvenile. The chance was she’s always going to improve for the step up in trip with the pedigree on the page. Ryan was delighted with her, she’s hit the line strong, has a beautiful action, great temperament. You couldn’t be happier with her. Ryan said she was very straightforward and honest, we’re really pleased.
“It’s a huge learning curve coming here and one run at Chester is probably worth two somewhere else. It’s great for that. She’ll probably go to the Oaks on the back of that. It was
always in her pedigree and she’s a beautiful specimen.”
I’m The One ‘will have learned a lot’ – John Gosden
I’m The One was no match for the winner on the day, but John Gosden appeared satisfied with the effort. “It was sort of the result I expected really” stated Gosden. “I flew up with Ryan and he told me the winner is a very good filly.
“Ryan sat on the inside and it opened up for her. Our filly just showed a lack of experience on just the second run of her life. She blew the bend, but to that extent she has run a lovely race and we are pleased with her.
“You come to Chester to learn and you learn if you can go to Epsom and you learn about bends, She certainly learned about that last one – William couldn’t get inside and went outside. She went out to the middle of the track and will have learned a lot from it.”
The experience will be crucial if tackling the Epsom test, but no plan has been set in stone for I’m The One, with the Ribblesdale also on the agenda.