Epsom Oaks: Whirl emerges as dark horse behind Desert Flower The Betfred Oaks will headline the opening afternoon of Epsom's Derby Festival on Friday as the best three-year-old fillies' in the land tussle for Classic glory. The latest entry stage left a field of nine still in contention for glory in the mile-and-a-half contest, with last month's 1000 Guineas winner from Newmarket, Desert Flower, the market leader for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby. She's set to dominate the front of the market but we are looking at some of the possible value options behind her. Epsom Oaks Betting Offer If you already have a Betfred account, check out more of the best betting sites and casino bonuses Whirl Aidan O'Brien retains three of the possible nine Oaks runners at this stage and Whirl could be the one that is going underrated at around 7/1 in the betting. Her stablemates Minnie Hauk and Giselle are both sired by the great Frankel and won last month's trials at Chester and Lingfield respectively. Whirl, a daughter of Wootton Bassett, trumps that pair on experience and she arrives at Epsom off the back of a convincing success in the Musidora Stakes at York. All her five runs before that had come over 7f/1m, including when well held at the Curragh in the Park Express Stakes in April after her winter break. She stepped up to a mile-and-a-quarter at York and was immediately pushed into a handy position by Ryan Moore. They took up the lead 3f from the end and dominated from there to home, with possible Epsom rival Go Go Boots behind in third spot on her first start on turf. Whirl should see this extra distance out and her supporters can be encouraged in the knowledge that both Snowfall and Soul Sister in the last four years have followed their Knavesmire wins by taking out this prize. Revoir It's a big few days for Andrew Balding as he saddles Pride Of Arras and Stanhope Gardens in the Derby on Saturday, but he has a lively outsider in Friday's Classic first. Revoir made a winning debut at Nottingham in October over an extended-mile on heavy ground, keeping on well late in the contest to get the job done under Rossa Ryan. We didn't see her again until Newbury in May, where she stepped up in trip/class to contest the Childwickbury Stud Fillies' Trial Stakes over 1m2f. She was denied a short-head there behind Ed Walker's Qilin Queen, who made all and was clinging on grimly at the post. The winner had enjoyed the benefit of a run in a Newmarket Listed contest when third behind the smart Shadwell filly Falakeyah and it showed. There's enough in Revoir's pedigree and the way she ran to suggest she'll be suited by 1m4f and there should be more to come from her after just two runs. Go Go Boots John Gosden has been responsible for four Oaks winners since 2014, the latest of them being Soul Sister in conjunction with his son Thady in 2023. That quartet of winners have all been well touted but their only contender this time around is Go Go Boots, a general 50/1 chance. The Night Of Thunder filly won her first two starts on Lingfield's Polytrack, over a mile in December and then 1m2f in April, doing it very easily on the second of those outings. She took a step up in class for her turf bow and finished third behind Whirl in the Musidora at York last time. That was a messy race late on and she might have paid a price for taking on the winner from some way out. It's not beyond the realms she can improve further upped again in trip.
