Estrange wins at Haydock

Bet365 Lancashire Oaks: You Got To Me set for Estrange clash

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Mon June 30, 2025 · 5M ago

Estrange could bid to take her next step up the ladder in Saturday’s Bet365 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

David O’Meara’s charge, winner of three of her four career starts, produced a career-best performance on her return over course-and-distance when sauntering to a four-and-a-half-length victory over Shaha in the Pinnacle Stales last time.

The trainer said: “We did consider the Pretty Polly in Ireland for Estrange, but they missed a lot of the rain and I didn’t think there was a need to come back to 10 furlongs on quick ground. She won her last race quite easily at Haydock Park and it didn’t look like she had a hard race when she came in afterwards. She came home and ate up and was back into exercise two days later.

“It makes a lot of sense to go to Haydock Park as we have already been there and there are not the huge logistical arrangements that we would have faced to get over to Ireland. This looks a better fit for her and there appears to be the potential for a bit of rain as well which would help. There has been a lot of talk about her, but she doesn’t know that. When she gets out there hopefully it will be more of the same from her.

“Plenty of fillies have taken this race on route to Group One success so hopefully she turns up at Haydock Park at the weekend in the same form she has up to now. She would be on a steeper upward curve than the likes of Amazing Maria, Lord Glitters and Mondialiste, who all won at the top level for us.

Join The Sporting Life Racing Club in one click

"We were heading to Haydock Park the last day with quite a bit of hope that we had the same filly we sent home (to Cheveley Park Stud) the previous year, if not better. I thought she would see out a mile and a half, but you never know until they do it. She is out of a relation to a St Leger winner so she had a chance of staying well based on how she finished out that Listed race at Doncaster race in November.

“It made for pretty easy watching the last day. She lobbed along and it was apparent in the straight, when a lot of the other fillies were coming under pressure, that when Danny (Tudhope) eased her out she looked like she was just doing a half speed. It was a great sense of relief when she won as so much can go wrong in races and sometimes horses don’t live up to what we think of them, but she certainly lived up to expectations.”

And while O’Meara has high hopes that Estrange could become his next Group One winner given her rate of progression he is not getting ahead of himself just yet and is taking things a day at a time.

He added: “We have been lucky enough to have quite a few Group One horses down the years, but some of those have done it in America. Amazing Maria was brilliant for us then we also had G-Force, while Mondialiste gave me great satisfaction when we took him to Canada and he won the Woodbine Mile. Far more of those good horses end up in other yards so we are very aware that we are very fortunate to have Estrange in the yard and Cheveley Park Stud have always been very supportive to us.

“As a yard, and a team, we are very excited, but we have to take every day as it comes as with racehorses twenty-four hours is a long time. We are very excited by her and hopefully she has got a few more good days in her yet.”

Sporting Life Racing Club: Breaking in to Gallop

Shaha could reoppose at the weekend while You Got To Me is a fascinating entry for Ralph Beckett. Last year’s Irish Oaks heroine ran no race when last of seven on her reappearance in the Coronation Cup at Epsom but would be a real test for the likely favourite on the pick of her three-year-old form.

Scenic added the Bronte Cup to her CV at York last time and could represent trainer Ed Walker, while Paddy Twomey’s Beechwood was a runaway winner of a Galway Listed race on her final start last year and is set to make her reappearance on Saturday.

Henry De Bromhead could run Nuit who remains a maiden after five career starts, while 86-rated Love Talk, fourth in a Carlisle Listed race last time, completes the potential field.