Rising Cross And Short Skirt Could Line Up In Bet365 Lancashire Oaks

Vodafone Oaks runner-up Rising Cross is one of 17 entries for the Group Two #90,000 bet365 Lancashire Oaks, run over just short of a mile and a half at Haydock Park on Saturday, July 8.

The John Best-trained filly ran a valiant race, overcoming a stumble in the closing stages, to finish six lengths behind the impressive Alexandrova in the fillies´ classic at Epsom Downs on June 2.

Best revealed today: 'I haven´t spoken to Gary Tanaka (her owner) yet but I´ve looked at the entries and it seems as though it could be okay for her. I need to speak to Mr Tanaka and then see how she works this week before committing her.

'She´s in good form at the moment so we just need to make sure we get her in the right races.'

The Cape Cross filly followed her Epsom effort with a trip to San Siro in Italy on June 18, where she finished eighth of 15 to Dionisia in the Group One Oaks D´Italia.

The Maidstone handler reported: 'She´s fine after the Italian Oaks. The Italian jockeys made sure that we stood no chance there. They really gave her a hard time and knocked her about a bit, but she seems fine now, so we´ll see how she is this week.

'The Lancashire Oaks looks winnable on paper and I think the form that she´s shown generally is a pretty high standard.'

Rising Cross, who dead-heated with Soft Centre for the Listed Lupe Stakes at Goodwood in May, had smart juvenile form, finishing second to subsequent Group One Fillies´ Mile and Coronation Stakes winner Nannina in the Group Three Prestige Stakes in August.

Best commented: 'She rarely throws in a bad one and when she does there´s a reason for it. When she ran at Doncaster at the end of last year she was virtually knocked over soon after the stalls opened. She´s not very big so if she does get knocked early on it makes life difficult for her.

'Good ground would be fine. I don´t mind if it´s on the soft side but she wouldn´t want it too firm. There has been a bit of rain up there so I´d be surprised if the ground is a problem to her.'

Vodafone Oaks third Short Skirt could also bid for compensation in the Group Two Bet365 Lancashire Oaks on Saturday, July 8, providing the ground at Haydock Park is suitable.

The John Greetham-owned filly showed her best form to date on good to soft ground at York in May when defeating subsequent Vodafone Oaks winner Alexandrova by a length and a quarter in the Group Three Musidora Stakes.

Greetham said this morning: 'She needs soft ground and there´s a lot of rain about up there this week. She was originally aimed for the Irish Oaks but the bet365 Lancashire Oaks is a nice prize, it´s a Group Two. I don´t think she´ll take both, I´d imagine that she´ll go for one or the other.

'I haven´t spoken to the trainer (Sir Michael Stoute) since the entry was made so I don´t know yet which race she´ll go for. He worked her last week and I assume she worked satisfactorily.'

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Short Skirt could finish only third, over seven lengths behind Alexandrova in the Vodafone Oaks at Epsom on June 2, but Greetham is confident that was not the Diktat filly´s true running.

The owner commented: 'She´s fine after Epsom and is at the top of her game. I imagine she will have come on since her run in the Vodafone Oaks and we´re obviously looking for soft ground but we´re also looking for a galloping track, both of thorse things are important. Epsom wasn´t right for her.

'Michael wasn´t keen to go there in the first place but she became the best filly he´s got and so he went to the Vodafone Oaks with her, which I was fine with, but she didn´t handle it.

'Her participation depends on whether they get rain, and if they don´t get enough then I think we shall go to Ireland.'

Other leading contenders for the bet365 Lancashire Oaks include recent Ribblesdale Stakes heroine Mont Etoile, Sir Michael Stoute´s unexposed performer Allegretto, the Vodafone Oaks fifthxGuilia, the John Gosden-trained Innocent Air and the progressive Princess Nada from the Luca Cumani stable.

There are three Irish entries including recent impressive Gowran Park maiden scorer Arosa from the David Wachman yard who could be joined by stable companion Starspangled, a daughter of Danehill out of the great racemare User Friendly. The third Irish entry is the Jim Bolger-trained Senora Galilei.

GROUND

The ground at Haydock Park is currently: GOOD TO FIRM.

Kirkland Tellwright, Clerk of the Course at Haydock Park, reported today: 'The ground is currently good firm and we have been watering to maintain this.

'The forecast is for a hot, muggy middle of the week with thundery showers on Wednesday.

'Conditions are then predicted to get cooler and drier on towards the end of the week.'