Minding remains in pole for the Oaks, despite Irish Guineas loss
Published:
Aidan O’Brien’s Minding was unable to do the Newmarket/Curragh double as Jet Setting came out better of a nailbiting finish to win the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Minding was sent off the odds-on favourite at the Curragh, but was overturned by Adrian Keatley’s 9/1 shot, who won by a short head.
Reports after the race indicated that Minding hit her head in the stalls before racing, but she couldn’t quite power home despite finishing fast at the County Kildare track.
The result meant Minding was pushed to even money for the Investec Oaks at Epsom next month, while the winner is yet to enter the betting.
Speaking after the race, and touching on his entry’s injury, O’Brien said: “We were delighted to be second and hopefully she’ll be grand. Her sinus burst and the blood came down her nose and you can never know what kind of effect that has, but it obviously wasn’t a positive.”
The Ballydoyle trainer also indicated there would be no change of plan in regard to the Oaks, stating that it was a “bit of an afterthought” to contest the Irish Guineas, opting to run the race rather than do a scheduled piece of training work.
Despite the post-race positivity, the trainer was quite bullish about his filly’s chances before the off, suggesting he’d be “disappointed and surprised” if Minding was defeated.
Whether the loss has dented much confidence remains to be seen, although he registered just three winners from 25 runners at the Curragh meeting at the time of writing.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
