John Gosden backs I'm The One after Cheshire Oaks second — Chester Races 2026
I'm The One finished second in the Cheshire Oaks at Chester, beaten two lengths by Amelia Earhart, and John Gosden is in no rush to force her next step. The filly was eased out to a general 6/1 second-favourite for the Betfred Oaks on June 5 after her run on day one of the May Festival, but her next target is still being weighed up.
Chester Races 2026 and I'm The One
The Roodee run was the second outing of her life and Gosden said the filly showed that in defeat. He said she had a lack of experience, adding that she “blew the bend a little bit,” but still called it “a lovely race.”
Amelia Earhart held the inside and got the opening she needed, while I'm The One was forced out into the middle of the track before finishing second. Gosden also said Chester was used as a learning run, with the bends and the last bend part of the lesson he wanted her to take into the bigger targets ahead.
John Gosden's Chester view
“That's a very good filly, the winner. She sat on the inside and it opened up for her, and our filly just showed a lack of experience, on the second run of her life,” Gosden said on Thursday's edition of the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.
“She blew the bend a little bit, and to that extent she's run a lovely race. We're pleased with her. I did warn everyone beforehand that all the hype was stupid, no one wanted to listen. Although maybe they did, she did go off odds-against so obviously it had some effect.”
He also said the 10-furlong Newbury maiden in mid-April had already shown enough to make this result useful, not final. “We came here to Chester to learn, you learn about Epsom, you learn about the bends and she definitely learnt about the last one. She went out into the middle of the track but take nothing away from the winner,” he said.
Epsom Oaks or Ascot
Gosden said the mile and a half is no problem and that she would handle Epsom, but he is not locking in the next race yet. The filly is in the Epsom Oaks, while the Ribblesdale at Ascot has not closed, and he said there is no need to make those decisions now.
That leaves the same practical question for connections after Chester: whether they keep her on the Oaks path for June 5 or wait for Ascot. For now, the result has changed the tone but not the destination, and the second-place finish kept both options alive.
