Oaks favoured for So Mi Dar Connections of So Mi Dar have dropped their strongest hint yet that they will tackle the Investec Oaks rather than the Derby with their star filly. Although a final decision on which race So Mi Dar will contest at Epsom has still to be made, a clash with impressive 1000 Guineas winner Minding in the fillies' Classic on June 3, for which she is best-priced 3-1, appears to be the preferred option at this stage. The John Gosden-trained filly ran out an easy winner of the Musidora Stakes at York on Wednesday, adding to her defeat of the colts in the Derby Trial at Epsom on her seasonal bow, a win which saw her receive an entry in the Derby. Simon Marsh, general manager of owner Lord Lloyd-Webber's Watership Down Stud, said: "She will, I am sure, go for the Oaks. "I think the race has set itself up well, but both fillies have got to get there on the day. If they both run their races, it will be very interesting. "It was great the way that she travelled at York and how she handled the ground. She quickened up very readily and she looks like she will stay a mile and a half. "She is a very exciting filly to have." While the talents of So Mi Dar are now being seen to good effect on the track, Marsh believes the signs of her potential star status were evident from the very beginning. "She has always been a fine filly from the moment she was born," said Marsh. "She is a good-looking filly that has pleased us all the way through her growing up. She has been a very nice horse from being broken in through to being in training with John. She has never really disappointed us."
