Dash Heads Classic Field

Ante-post favourite Dash To The Top will face 12 rivals when she bids for Classic glory in the Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh on Sunday.

The Luca Cumani-trained filly is the 3-1 market leader with both William Hill and Ladbrokes after winning on her seasonal bow at Newcastle last month.

The daughter of Montjeu was forced to miss the Epsom Oaks after being slow to come to hand in the spring.

She was an easy winner of the Listed Hoppings Stakes at Gosforth Park, where she was partnered by Joe Fanning, but Johnny Murtagh takes over at the weekend.

He told At The Races: 'She´s going well, but it´s going to be very competitive.

'It´s a good Oaks with all the good fillies from England and all the good home fillies.

'The home defence is very strong and the Aga Khan has supplemented a couple of fillies (Shawanda and Hazariya), so I´m sure it´s going to be one of the best fillies races of the year.

'She´s only had four runs, but she is the favourite and she won well last time out. I hope she will run well.'

John Gosden´s Playful Act, winner of last year´s Fillies´ Mile, also missed the Oaks after making a slow start to the year.

But she showed she retained all of her ability when winning the Lancashire Oaks on her seasonal bow

She is the 9-2 third-favourite with Paddy Power while Alain De Royer-Dupre´s French challenger Shawanda, winner of a Group Three last time, is a 4-1 chance.

The three-pronged British challenge is completed by John Dunlop´s Thakafaat, winner of the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot at York.

'She is a tough, genuine, galloping filly and we were delighted with her at York,' said Angus Gold, racing manger to Hamdan Al Maktoum.

'It was obviously a bonus to win a prestigious Group Two like that as it was a big step up for her and she will need to step up again if she is to trouble these.

'But she is a Group filly in her own right and we might as well have a go at winning a Group One.

'She is progressive, but we will be pleasantly surprised if she is good enough to win a Classic as it is a tough race and there are a lot of improving fillies in there.

'I believe she has taken her race at York well and she doesn´t exert herself overly at home, which is a good fault, and I hope that she runs well.

'We know that she stays a mile and a half so the distance isn´t going to be a problem.

'Ideally, like every filly in there, I would have thought they want good ground and not firm, but you take what you are given and we´ll just see how we get on.'

Saoire will be trying for a second Classic success after winning the Irish 1000 Guineas in May for trainer Frances Crowley.

The daughter of Pivotal has since finished only eighth in the Pretty Polly Stakes, although she did meet with trouble in running.

Pat Smullen, Ms Crowley´s husband, will be on board for the first time this season.

He said: 'She´s a lovely filly and I´ve ridden her in all her work. I´m delighted to be able to get the ride. It´s nice to get on her in one of the big races.

'This is the race that both Frances and I thought would be her main aim this year, so hopefully we´ll be proved right.

'She´s a Guineas winner and though she has to get the mile and a half, we think she will. All being well she´ll run a big race.

'The Pretty Polly was a very messy race. Sometimes these things happen and we´ll draw a line through that.

'It was possibly a blessing in disguise that she didn´t have a hard race and leave the Oaks there, so we weren´t too disappointed on that score.'

The Jim Bolger-trained Pictavia represents the Epsom Oaks form after finishing third behind Eswarah in the Vodafone-sponsored race.

She was only four and a half lengths in arrears there after failing to handle the track and making up plenty of ground in the final furlong.

Big-race pilot Kevin Manning expects Pictavia to handle the Curragh track much better and he is predicting a bold show.

He said: 'She´s come out of Epsom very well. On the day she didn´t handle the track at all. It was in the last furlong, when she met the rising ground, that she was doing her best work.

'She´s in very good form and I think the Curragh will suit her.

'She´s a handy filly and I was surprised she didn´t handle Epsom, but the Curragh is a big galloping track and there shouldn´t be any excuses.'

Aidan O´Brien relies on the Coronation Stakes third Mona Lisa while John Oxx runs both Hazariya, winner of a Listed race last time, and Allexina.

Chelsea Rose, In The Ribbons, Lazy Marie and Right Key complete the line up.

Darley Irish Oaks, Paddy Power bet: 7-2 Dash To The Top, 4-1 Shawanda, Pictavia, 9-2 Playful Act, 10-1 Saoire, 12-1 Chelsea Rose, 14-1 Hazariya, Thakafaat , 16-1 Mona Lisa, 20-1 Right Key, 25-1 Allexina, 100-1 In The Ribbons, Lazy Marie.

? PA Sport