Kevin Blake Backs Thundering On for The Oaks at 4:00
Kevin Blake backed Thundering On for the Oaks at 4:00 on Friday. The Sky Sports Racing tipster also named a hat-trick of best bets for Epsom’s Oaks Day card, with the fillies’ Classic the centrepiece of his selections.
Blake called Thundering On the form pick in the Betfred Oaks, and said the filly still appealed as a fair price. She goes into the race after improving with each of her four starts and winning the Salsabil Stakes at Navan.
Blake's Oaks Day trio
The other two selections were Ice Max for the Betfred Diomed Stakes at 2:40 and Auld Toon Loon for the Betfred 'Nifty 50' Handicap at 3:15. Ice Max was third to Lambourn in the Huxley Stakes at Chester, then ran again at Goodwood after perhaps hitting the front a little early. He was also a close second in the same race at Epsom last year.
Auld Toon Loon is seven years old and has shaped well in his last two starts. The rain that arrived was said to hold no fears for him, which gives Blake’s handicap pick a straightforward enough profile heading into Friday.
Aidan O'Brien's strong hand
The Betfred Oaks was scheduled for 4:00, and Aidan O'Brien held a very strong hand in the race. His main contenders were Amelia Earhart and Cameo, with Amelia Earhart described as very solid on what she showed at Chester and Cameo arriving after a win at Lingfield.
That leaves Blake siding with Thundering On against a favoured yard that still looks heavily involved in the main event. She is trained by Joseph O'Brien and is a daughter of Frankel out of the Group 1 winner Thundering Nights.
Thundering On at Epsom
Blake’s note on the race was direct: “The main event of the day is the Betfred Oaks (4:00) and it rates as a fascinating renewal of the great race.” He also said Epsom “really does represent the most ruthless test of a racehorse anywhere on the planet.”
His final read was that “one that still appeals as being a fair price is the one that I would have as being the form pick in the race.” For readers following the card, that leaves Thundering On as the horse Blake wants in the 12-furlong Classic, with Amelia Earhart and Cameo the key threats from the O'Brien team.
