With the Oaks taking place on Friday, the team have been through the principals and here are our thoughts.

Legatissimo was highly regarded last season and ran a very good race when 2nd to Jack Naylor in a Listed event which was then franked when Jack Naylor finished 3rd to Found in the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp. Also in this race was Together Forever who has since won a Group 1 at Newmarket and ran Star of Seville to a head in the Oaks trial at York. When Legatissimo was beaten by Jack Naylor, the former was both keen and the latter got first run having been ridden more prominently than normal. The form is stacking up really well so it was probably somewhat of a surprise when Legatissimo was only 4th on her return in a Irish 1000 Guineas trial however the drop in distance back to 7f probably didn’t suit. She was then stepped up in distance to 1m1f at Gowran Park and dropped into a Listed race with thoughts of the Guineas at this stage out of their mind, however after a very impressive display when staying on really well, they quickly reverted back to running her in the 1000 Guineas in England. The fast pace set by Tiggy Wiggy in the 1000 Guineas ensured this was set up for horses who will stay further and with Ryan Moore riding a superb race he got Legatissimo rolling early enough to run down Lucida inside the final furlong. The way she won suggests that she’ll go back up in distance and the Oaks is an obvious target and she is rightly favourite however the last Filly to win the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Oaks at Epsom was Kazzia back in 2002.

Crystal Zvezda is next in the market and this is on the back of a very impressive display in Swettenham Trial Stakes at Newbury in which previous Oaks winner Dancing Rain got beat back in 2011. Shirocco Star finished 2nd in this race before finishing 2nd in the Oaks on her next run, The Lark finished 3rd and was 3rd in the Oaks on her next run, Volume won this race before finishing 3rd in the Oaks and Inchila was 4th in this race before also finishing 4th in the Oaks. All of these were in the last 4 years so this is usually a very good trial and the manner in which Crystal Zvezda won it without having previously run this season might mean has even more to offer. She was restrained early and settled well at the rear and was still last with just over 1 furlong to go, however after Ryan Moore moved out to get a run she quickened very smartly and won easily. Being out of Dubawi she will certainly stay the extra 2f (20% strike rate at 1m2f, 22% strike rate at 1m4f) and is surely a leading player and probably the number 1 of the British. It could come down to who Ryan Moore decides to ride and after winning both the English 1000 and 2000 Guineas, he will be looking for English Classic number 3. She is also related to both Hillstar and Crystal Capella and so is bred to be very good indeed.

Diamondsandrubies again ridden by Ryan Moore recently was a comfortable winner of the Cheshire Oaks at Chester however a form line through Entertainment probably means she may struggle to beat Crystal Zvezda and Pamona. That said what she was asked to do at Chester she did with ease despite getting hit across the head with a rivals whip coming into the final straight she quickened up well in the rain softened ground to win by 6 lengths. The race hasn’t worked out too bad for future Oaks runners either with Wonder of Wonders finishing 2nd after winning the Cheshire Oaks and Light Shift won both the Cheshire and Epsom Oaks so as a trial it’s probably as good as the 1000 Guineas. Being out of a relatively new Sire (Fastnet Rock), it’s very difficult to tell whether she is as well bred as those around her in the market and it may be that she finds one or two of these have more to give still.

Together Forever has been beaten by Legatissimo (twice), Found and Star of Seville in her career so far and may struggle to turn the tables on all of these. Her recent effort when 2nd to Star of Seville after a lay off was encouraging and she has clearly trained on however there is a debate whether she finished her race off well or whether Star of Seville idled badly as she had been in front the whole journey. Being out of Galileo she is sure to improve for the step up in distance but whether she can reverse form with others who will also appreciate the step up in distance is doubtful.

Star of Seville who beat Together Forever at York albeit in receipt of 4lb and with fitness on her side may well be good enough to maintain these places as she looked to get very lonely in front at York after looking like she was going to win easily with a furlong to go. Another Duke of Marmalade Filly she should run a good race and this trip should suit (14% strike rate at 1m4f). She may well try and lead and slow the race down and use her superb cruising speed to kick off the front and catch her rivals who look like they need winding up unawares. As a trial, the Musidora is quite good with the last winner of the Musidora who went on to win the Oaks was Sariska who was also owned by Lady Bamford. Since Sariska, Lady Bamford has had just 1 runner in the Oaks and that was 3rd place and unlucky The Lark in 2013. Alexandrova was also beat in the Musidora before going on to win the Oaks in 2006.

Jack Naylor improved for every run last season and ran an eyecatching 4th on her reappearance a few days ago in the Irish 1000 Guineas. After being held up, she made rapid late headway to finish 4th (may have finished 3rd but Richard Hughes had to stop riding) and the step up in trip to 1m4 should suit (12% strike rate at 1 mile, 18% strike rate at 1m4f). Her form as a 2 year old was also very good including when 3rd to Found at Longchamp and there isn’t much between these 2. With fitness now assured after her 1000 Guineas run she should get much closer to Found.

Jazzi Top is related to Izzi Top who finished 3rd in the Oaks so is bred to be very talented. After running 2 good races but failing to win as a 2 year old, she has had 2 runs as a 3 year old winning both (statistically Danehill Dancers marginally improve from 2 (14.6%) to 3 (15.4%)) including winning the Pretty Polly at Newmarket in impressive style. Held up for most of the race, she quickened up nicely at the cut away and won going away. John Gosden, her trainer also won this race last year with Taghrooda who went on to win the Oaks which also happened in 2013 when Talent won the Pretty Polly before winning the Oaks. It could be interesting to see whether Frankie Dettori decides to ride this one or the more fancied Star of Seville.

Lady of Dubai wasn’t fancied for this race until only a few days ago when winning impressively at Goodwood. The step up in distance from 1 mile (when 2nd to the talented Irish Rookie) appeared to really suit well and a further step up to 1m4f should also suit. Dubawi progeny have a 16% strike rate at 1 mile, 20% strike rate at 1 mile 2 furlongs and 22% strike rate at 1 mile 4 furlongs. They also have a very good record at Epsom so should handle the tricky course and camber late on. The last winner of the Height of Fashion stakes who went on to win the Oaks was the high class Snow Fairy although apart from her, the race hasn’t been that successful in finding those that finish towards the front of the Oaks field. Luca Cumani is very careful with his top class Fillies and has only had 1 runner in the Oaks in recent years and that was with Volume last year who had won a trial before finishing 3rd in the main event.