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Ylang Ylang to face eleven rivals in Friday's Epsom Oaks

3 minute read

Twelve horses were declared for Friday's feature at Epsom.

YLANG YLANG (dark blue cap) winning the Fillies' Mile at Newmarket in England. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Aidan O'Brien will saddle two leading contenders in Friday's Epsom Oaks after both Ylang Ylang and Rubies Are Red were declared on Wednesday morning.

The pair feature among twelve declarations for the Epsom Oaks, with Ylang Ylang heading the market after her encouraging staying-on fifth-place finish in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier in the month. Stablemate Rubies Are Red remains a maiden after three starts but was subject to plenty of market support after staying on strongly from an uncompromising position in the Lingfield Oaks Trial.

Ralph Beckett declared all four of his horses at entry stage, with Cheshire Oaks heroine Forest Fairy heading the team under jockey Rossa Ryan. Rubies Are Red's Lingfield Oaks conqueror You Got To Me will once again be partnered by Hector Crouch, while James Doyle has picked up the ride on Treasure, who finished fourth in the Lingfield contest, for HM The King & HM The Queen. Silvestre De Sousa will be hoping Ralph Beckett's Seaward can provide him with another fillies' Classic upset after he steered Elmalka to success in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier this season.

Andrew Balding attempts to land a second Epsom Oaks 21 years after Casual Look landed the spoils. Oisin Murphy will ride the commanding Musidora Stakes winner.

Dermot Weld, who saddled Blue Wind to triumph in 1981, relies on last-time-out Group 3 winner Ezeliya for owner-breeder Aga Khan, while the Noel Meade-trained Caught U Looking will attempt to reverse the form after finishing fourth in the aforementioned Navan contest in April.

Charlie Appleby's Dance Sequence, Karl Burke's Making Dreams and the David Menuisier-trained War Chimes complete the field of twelve.

Elsewhere on the card, Emily Upjohn will face four rivals as she bids to land back-to-back Coronation Cups. John and Thady Gosden's filly was an emphatic winner of the prize twelve months ago under Frankie Dettori, but as she was on her reappearance when fifth in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, she will be partnered by Kieran Shoemark.

Aidan O'Brien solely relies on Luxembourg and last year's Grand Prix de Paris winner Feed The Flame bids to land the spoils for France for the first time since Cirrus des Aigles plundered the prize a decade ago.

William Haggas' evergreen Hamish and Harry Charlton's Juddmonte representative Time Lock make up the quintet.