Smoothly does it for Silkwood

August 22, 2007 - Susie Cameron

Back 2/1 Silkwood for the Yorkshire Oaks at the Ebor meeting

Back 2/1 Silkwood (Credit: Thowra UK)

Peeping Fawn will undoubtedly take the world of beating in Wednesday's Yorkshire Oaks following the completion of a Group 1 hat-trick when landing the Nassau Stakes with a good deal of authority at Goodwood earlier this month.

Stepping back up to a mile and a half holds no terrors – indeed, her runaway Irish Oaks victory shows her to be just as effective over 12 furlongs as she is over a mile and a quarter – and all type of going seem to alike to this daughter of Danehill.

However, for all that she appears to be thriving on her racing, will her exertions take their toll. She was unraced as a juvenile, granted, but she's already had nine races this term, the last five of which have been at the highest level.

Conversely, it's too little recent action that tempers enthusiasm where her stablemate Alexandrova is concerned. As in the case of Peeping Fawn, the Sadler's Wells filly went from strength to strength last term, and won three Group 1s: the English and Irish Oaks and last season's renewal of this prestigious contest.

But Alexandrova has been absent since October when she was third to Mandesha over an inadequate trip of nine furlongs in the Prix De l'Opera at Longchamp. She could be in for a profitable autumn campaign but trainer Aidan O'Brien has made it clear that he thinks she will be all the better for this outing.

Consequently, the advice is to side with Silkwood, who ran out a five-length winner of the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, subsequent to which she's been rested with this race as her target. Her trainer, Michael Jarvis, is as astute a trainer as there is in the game today and he thinks the world of this filly.

If an appreciable amount of rain falls, making the going softer than the current 'good', then there are concerns, as she was taken out of the Oaks owing to the soft conditions. But the signs are positive that the surface won't deteriorate further, so everything looks set fair for the Singspeil filly to make a bold bid.

The manner of her victory at the royal meeting left the impression that, should she have lined-up for the Vodafone Oaks at Epsom, she would have gone mighty close. The fact that she beat All My Loving by five lengths looks significant since Peeping Fawn had four lengths to spare over that filly in the Oaks at Epsom, and then had her five and a half lengths adrift in Irish equivalent the following month.

As such, Peeping Fawn and Silkwood are more closely matched than their odds imply – the former is long odds-on while the selection is 2/1 with Bet365. Ultimately, Silkwood may not need to have improved as much as many seem to think from Royal Ascot to here. That said, this will be just her fifth career start so, chances are, there a good deal more to come from Silkwood.

Verdict: 2pts Silkwood @ 2/1 (Bet365)

Posted: August 22, 2007

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