Oaks joint favourite Eswarah fulfilled every expectation this afternoon with a brilliant victory at Epsom this afternoon, following in her mother’s footsteps. Bred with a Classic victory in mind, the daughter of Midway Lady brought back images of her mother’s win 19 years ago as she stormed to victory in the Vodafone Oaks.
“Her dam was very good, but this filly is exceptional,” gushed trainer Michael Jarvis.
Jockey Richard Hills rode a smart race, keeping the filly well back out of the fray until they turned the corner down the hill to the finish. “I didn’t want her bumped all the way round — I thought it might frighten her. Everything went well from there. I followed them into the straight and it was then a matter of waiting before I pounced. ”
Eswarah was chased down the hill by the tiny filly Something Exciting but couldn’t be caught. Something Exciting’s prospects seemed to be under threat in a line-up of powerful-looking fillies, but she proved her class and staying power to finish well. Trainer David Elsworth was thrilled by her performance, but paid homage to the dazzling Eswarah.
“She ran a wonderful race. For a moment I thought she was going to pass them all, but the other filly [Eswarah] outstayed her. In the end she was beaten by a better filly on the day, a filly that I think I’ll try to avoid!” he said.
Joint favourite Virginia Waters made up good ground in the final furlongs, but faded towards the very end of the race. This was her first attempt at this distance and jockey Kieren Fallon failed to work his usual magic as the 1000 Guineas winner was eventually beaten into third place by the Irish filly Pictavia.
