Betfred Oaks preview: David Ord on Aidan O'Brien v the Gosdens at Epsom

And that’s nothing new. They’ve won the last nine renewals between them – and in that period of time it’s Aidan O’Brien 6-3 John Gosden (Thady-less at the time).

In the red corner this time is a 22-length winner of the Cheshire Oaks – in the blue are a runaway Musidora heroine and a stylish Pretty Polly scorer who has won her last four.

There are two pounds between all three on Timeform ratings – the trio each sport the 'p' suggesting further improvement is on the cards too. So...

How good is Savethelastdance?

I’ve absolutely no idea. But she’s beautifully named given we are getting towards the end of the remarkable Galileo’s Classic runners and she looks a typical middle-distance firecracker for her late sire.

One run at two, in the autumn at Thurles, was followed by a winning reappearance on deep ground at Leopardstown last month. Sent off at 20/1, the least fancied of the O’Brien trio in the race, she won in the manner of a smart filly. Soon in front and clear leaving the back straight, she was never in any danger of defeat, scoring by two-and-a-quarter lengths.

An Oaks trial was always going to be next and the chunk of improvement she showed in slamming There’s The Door and co catapulted her to the head of the Classic market. It was visually stunning – bar a laboured first quarter-of-a-mile – and there was substance to go with the style.

Writing in his Watch And Learn column, our timefiigure guru Graeme North wrote: “Her overall performance on the clock wasn’t exceptional for all a 101 timefigure is the best in the race since 2012, but a winning margin of pretty much bang on four and a half seconds, or twenty-two lengths, is pretty much unheard of in Group races and what’s more she achieved it by running the last furlong faster than the penultimate furlong and that furlong faster than the preceding one while every other horse bar one according to the TPD sectionals was doing the complete opposite.

“Remarkably, her final two-furlong time was over half a second faster than any of the other winners (all of whom except Arrest raced over shorter) on the card and her Timeform performance rating of 122 easily eclipses the 117 awarded Enable after she won the same race in 2017.”

So what are the negatives? There are only two you can throw her way. One is the ground. Both of the victories this season have been achieved on a testing surface – although to be fair until last week that’s all we’ve been racing on.

There’s nothing in her pedigree to suggest she won’t be effective on quicker ground, though. Her dam, Daddys Lil Darling, was an American Oaks winner.

But what about the start – the laboured first furlong? Some thought it was down to her being in season at Chester, others a lack of experience. She wouldn’t want to be last for the first two furlongs at Epsom but Ryan Moore will be awake to the possibility of a slow engagement of gears this time.

I don’t think ground, or a slow start will be an issue – and if that’s the case the Gosden pair will have to sprout wings down the Epsom straight but...

THE GOSDEN TEAM

…they did at York and Newmarket respectively.

Soul Sister seemed to take everyone by surprise at York. She drifted to 18/1 in the betting beforehand but the daughter of Frankel was so dominant on the track that she was a fraction of that price for the Oaks moments after crossing the line.

It wasn’t that she'd always been completely off the Classics radar. A winner of her sole start at two in the autumn mud at Doncaster, she was prepped for the QIPCO 1000 Guineas and sent to Newbury for the artist formerly known as the Fred Darling.

But the Guineas dream was in tatters after only five furlongs, held up in the rear she was ridden along and in trouble long before others were off the bridle. She was soon allowed to come home in her own time.

Last of 12 at Newbury to first of eight at York in little over three weeks was quite a transformation. Presented with a lively surface for the first time and stepped up to ten furlongs, she breezed through the race before producing a turn of foot that marked her out as a real talent to sail four lengths clear of her toiling rivals.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Frankie Dettori admitted afterwards. But with the rebuilding project now in full swing he might well be expecting a fifth Oaks win.

Tactically it will be fascinating at Epsom. Having seen the two in their trials, the suspicion will be that Savethelastdance will commit first and try to draw her rival’s sting. And the stalker won’t want to give her rival too much leeway – that turn of foot needs to be used to pass her rival – not merely get to her, for the O’Brien filly won’t be stopping.

And then there’s Running Lion to consider

Running Lion was the first of the three to play her hand. That came in the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket where, off the back of three successive wins on the all-weather, she did enough to leave connections thinking big.

The switch to turf brought out a career-best performance and one that answered plenty of questions – but posed one too.

On the plus side she coped well with very different underfoot conditions at HQ (unlikely to be repeated at Epsom unless John Kettley’s bespoke weather map is telling porky pies) but it did show she has versatility.

She’s tractable too, settling beautifully despite a potentially tricky draw on the flank of the field, and the way she handled the Dip suggested Epsom wouldn’t be an issue either, although she did have a spin at the Breakfast With The Stars, sorry Derby Gallops Morning, event just to make sure.

But arguably more telling was the acceleration that catapulted her clear of toiling rivals inside the final furlong.

It doesn’t look to have been a vintage Pretty Polly, runner-up Sumo Sam turned over at 2/5 in a novice stakes back at HQ a fortnight later, although the rest of the form is untested and that filly clearly wasn’t in the same form off the back of the turnaround.

But it’s the trip that’s the lingering doubt. Gosden Senior was thinking Prix de Diane straight after at Newmarket and he still has it at the back of his mind for post Epsom. Oisin Murphy doesn’t know if she’ll get home – but does think she’ll handle the occasion and not waste energy at the start. Whether she has the petrol left to reel in a freewheeling Savethelastdance may be another thing.

It’s a fascinating Oaks and beautifully set up. O’Brien versus the Gosdens, Moore versus Dettori and Murphy. Power versus finesse.

Savethelastdance will surely strike first and then it’s a question of whether her pursuers have the stamina – to go with their undoubted speed – to sail past her.

I don’t think they will, but can’t wait to find out.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.