Joseph O’Brien is hoping Wemightakedlongway can get closer to Minnie Hauk in Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks than when the pair last met at Epsom.
On that occasion the daughter of Australia was five lengths adrift of the winner but she improved a pound again on Timeform ratings when fourth behind Betfred Oaks second Whirl in the Pretty Polly Stakes next time.
The trainer told Friday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast: "I’d say a Curragh mile-and-a-half should suit her very well. Obviously, Epsom is a very stiff track and she got a little unbalanced in the straight which is what we felt cost her third place.
“She came back to the Curragh and ran a career best in the Pretty Polly and got bumped up to 111 and got closer to Whirl than she did at Epsom. Obviously, Minnie Hauk looks potentially a champion but our hope is we can get a bit closer to her than we did at Epsom."
And O’Brien feels the daughter of Australia is capable of better still.
“She's well, her last two runs have been two career best efforts one and after another and we feel potentially getting on ground that’s a bit softer this weekend could bring about a bit more improvement as well as returning to 12 furlongs. We're hopeful we can put up a bold show.”
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