Hauk flies home in the Oaks
The punters put their faith in Desert Flower’s stamina before the Oaks on Friday, backing the 1,000 Guineas winner down to start at 11-10, but they left Epsom poorer and wiser as Aidan O’Brien’s Minnie Hauk, the Cheshire Oaks winner, ground down her stable companion, Whirl, in the final strides to win the third Classic of 2025 by a neck.
It was race that unfolded just as O’Brien would have hoped, as Whirl set off hard to make it a stamina test with Minnie Hauk waiting to pounce on her outside. Desert Flower’s class was enough to carry her into third place, four lengths behind Whirl, but she did not threaten to pick up the leaders at any stage after coming under some pressure with three furlongs still to run.
The victory was O’Brien’s 11th in the fillies’ Classic, which puts him within sight of Robert Robson’s all-time record of 13 Oaks victories, set between 1802 and 1825.
“She was just ready to run at Chester,” O’Brien said. “She barely made it, but she made abnormal improvement from Chester, which we thought she might. It was all class rather than stamina or fitness, she just has a lot of class.
“Ryan gave her a beautiful ride, he loved her the last day and he loved her again today, so it’s very exciting. She’s still a bit green. Obviously at Chester she learned a lot, but she was always going to improve with racing.
“What you love about her is she’s a great traveller with a lot of class. Ryan said he was going very easy early on, so usually that means she can step up a couple of grades, into even higher class races. She could take on the boys if the lads [in the Coolmore ownership syndicate] decide it.”
Minnie Hauk’s win completed a 23-1 Group One double on the day for her trainer after Jan Brueghel’s defeat of Calandagan, the odds-on favourite, in the Coronation Cup.
Mickael Barzalona came with a strong run on Calandagan and was alongside the winner inside the final furlong but Ryan Moore found a final effort from Jan Brueghel to win by half a length.
“They started to race from a long way out and it was incredible in the straight how he carried on,” O’Brien said. “He’s a very brave horse, and if you pass him slowly, you’re in trouble.”
5.10pm Debenhams Handicap result
1 Partisan Hero (S De Sousa) 7-2
2 Golden Mind (O J Orr) 25-1
3 Rhoscolyn (Jason Watson) 5-1
12 ran
Non Runner: 8
Updated
