Supplementary entry Mehdaayih headlines 16 contenders going forward for the £523,750 G1 Investec Oaks at Epsom Downs on day one of the Investec Derby Festival, Investec Ladies' Day, Friday, May 31.

Mehdaayih has been added to the 12-furlong fillies' Classic at a cost of £30,000 after a scintillating four and a half-length victory in the Listed Cheshire Oaks on May 8. The Frankel filly is the 9/4 favourite with Unibet, official betting partner of the Investec Derby Festival.

Mehdaayih's trainer John Gosden is also responsible for another impressive trial scorer in Anapurna (7/1), who defeated Tauteke (33/1, Roger Varian) by six lengths in the Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial on May 11.

Gosden is chasing a third Investec Oaks success, having landed the Classic with Taghrooda (2014) and superstar Enable (2017).

Together Forever provided Aidan O'Brien with a seventh Investec Oaks triumph in 2018 and Ireland's 21-time champion Flat trainer has five contenders going forward led by Pink Dogwood (3/1).

A half-sister to 2018 G1 Irish Derby victor Latrobe, Pink Dogwood returned to action with a smooth success in the Listed Salsabil Stakes at Navan on April 28.

O'Brien's remaining Investec Oaks entries are G1 1,000 Guineas heroine Hermosa (12/1), who runs in the G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh tomorrow (Sunday, May 26), plus Fleeting (33/1), successful in the G2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster in September, Delphinia (40/1) and Peach Tree (33/1).

Further Irish interest could be provided by Tarnawa (16/1, Dermot Weld), winner of the G3 Blue Wind Stakes at Naas on May 11, and last season's G1 Fillies' Mile scorer Iridessa (16/1, Joseph O'Brien), who has also been declared for the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

Newmarket trainer William Haggas has two leading contenders in Maqsad (7/1) and Frankellina (14/1). Maqsad has won twice at Newmarket this year, most recently taking the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes by five lengths on May 5, while Frankellina shaped well on her reappearance when going down by a neck in the G3 Musidora Stakes at York on May 15.

Ralph Beckett is a dual Investec Oaks-winning trainer, courtesy of Look Here (2008) and Talent (2013), and the Andover handler is set to be represented by Manuela De Vega (14/1).

Unbeaten as a two-year-old, including a Listed contest against colts at Pontefract in October, the Lope De Vega filly shaped well on her comeback when second behind Mehdaayih at Chester.

Beckett reported: "Manuela De Vega is in good form and we have been pleased with her preparation for the Investec Oaks.

"She did a piece of work Tuesday morning on the grass which was nice and the Oaks remains the plan.

"I was really pleased with her run at Chester. She had to give a penalty away and the winner got first run on us. She ran well and she will improve from that effort.

"She needed that run and it would also have done her the world of good to go round Chester and race in between fillies.

"Hopefully, we will be competitive at Epsom. We have been lucky enough to win the Oaks twice and we are looking forward to running Manuela De Vega on Friday."

Lavender's Blue (12/1, Amanda Perrett), a close second in the Listed Fillies' Trial at Newbury on May 18, Musidora Stakes fifth Blue Gardenia (50/1, David O'Meara) and Sh Boom (66/1, Peter Chapple-Hyam) complete those seeking Investec Oaks glory.

Investec Oaks - Unibet prices:

9/4 Mehdaayih; 3/1 Pink Dogwood; 7/1 Anapurna, Maqsad; 12/1 Hermosa, Lavender's Blue; 14/1 Manuela De Vega, Frankellina; 16/1 Iridessa, Tarnawa; 33/1 Fleeting, Tauteke, Peach Tree; 40/1 Delphinia, Blue Gardenia; 66/1 Sh Boom

Each-way 1/4 odds, 1-2-3

Further G1 action on Investec Ladies' Day is provided by the £444,750 Investec Coronation Cup, which has 14 contenders at the six-day stage following the addition of Old Persian (Charlie Appleby), who was supplemented today at a cost of £25,000.

The four-year-old Godolphin colt, 3/1 second-favourite with Unibet, produced one of the best middle-distances performances in the world so far this year when the comfortable winner of the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, Dubai, at the end of March.

Charlie Appleby commented this afternoon: "Old Persian worked well this morning and, with the way the Coronation Cup is shaping up, we felt that he deserved to be in the line-up."He has come out of his victory in the Dubai Sheema Classic in good form and a reproduction of that effort is going to make him very competitive.

"He is a typical Dubawi colt, who is looking the finished article as a four-year-old, and we saw out in Dubai how well he travels through his races, which will hopefully serve him well around Epsom."

Aidan O'Brien is the most successful trainer in the Investec Coronation Cup with eight victories and his five contenders this year include Kew Gardens, who is Unibet's 2/1 favourite.

The four-year-old was a dual G1 winner last season, including the final Classic, the St Leger. at Doncaster, and finished second to Morando (10/1, Andrew Balding) on his seasonal return in the G3 Ormonde Stakes at Chester on May 9.

Magical (6/1) and Flag Of Honour (50/1), both successful at G1 level in 2018, may also run for O'Brien along with Cypress Creek (66/1) and Hunting Horn (66/1), who was fourth behind Old Persian in the Dubai Sheema Classic.

The last two winners of the G2 Middleton Stakes, Lah Ti Dar (4/1) and Coronet (12/1), could represent Gosden, while Yorkshire-based trainer Mark Johnston has two contenders as well in Communique (20/1) and Mildenberger (33/1) who were first and third in the G2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket on May 4.

Salouen (8/1, Sylvester Kirk) was beaten a head by Cracksman in the 2018 Investec Coronation Cup and the five-year-old is set to return to Epsom Downs as he bids for a first G1 success.

Last year's G1 Melbourne Cup runner-up Marmelo (25/1, Hughie Morrison) and Jockey Club Stakes second Defoe (16/1, Roger Varian) also are in the 12-furlong highlight for older horses.

Both the Investec Oaks and the Investec Coronation Cup are part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

Investec Coronation Cup - Unibet prices:

2/1 Kew Gardens; 3/1 Old Persian; 4/1 Lah Ti Dar; 6/1 Magical; 8/1 Salouen; 10/1 Morando; 12/1 Coronet; 16/1 Defoe; 20/1 Communique; 25/1 Marmelo; 33/1 Mildenberger; 50/1 Flag Of Honour; 66/1 Cypress Creek, Hunting Horn

Each-way 1/5 odds, 1-2-3

The Investec Oaks

Group 1, £523,750 total prize fund. 1m 4f 6y, 4.30pm, Epsom Downs, Friday, May 31. For three-year-old fillies only. Horses will only be eligible to run provided they have attained a BHA rating of 80 or higher. Horses who do not qualify for a rating may also be eligible providing the BHA Handicapper is satisfied that the horse's racecourse performances up to and including the day before confirmation merit a provisional assessment of 80 or more. Horses who have not run will not be eligible. Entries closed April 9, entries revealed April 10 (60 entries), scratchings deadline May 16 (22 remained), six-day confirmations & £30,000 supplementary stage May 25 (15 confirmations plus 1 supplementary entry - Mehdaayih), final declarations 10am May 29.

Horse	Owner	Trainer
ANAPURNA	Helena Springfield Ltd	John Gosden
BLUE GARDENIA (IRE)	Sir Robert Ogden	David O'Meara
DELPHINIA (IRE)	Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith	Aidan O'Brien IRE
FLEETING (IRE)	Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith	Aidan O'Brien IRE
FRANKELLINA	Anthony Oppenheimer	William Haggas
HERMOSA (IRE)	Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier	Aidan O'Brien IRE
IRIDESSA (IRE)	Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez	Joseph O'Brien IRE
LAVENDER'S BLUE (IRE)	Benny Andersson	Amanda Perrett
MANUELA DE VEGA (IRE)	Waverley Racing	Ralph Beckett
MAQSAD (FR)	Hamdan Al Maktoum	William Haggas
*MEHDAAYIH	Emirates Park PTY Ltd	John Gosden
PEACH TREE (IRE)	Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier	Aidan O'Brien IRE
PINK DOGWOOD (IRE)	Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor	Aidan O'Brien IRE
SH BOOM	J G Davis & Star Pointe Ltd	Peter Chapple-Hyam
TARNAWA (IRE)	HH Aga Khan	Dermot Weld IRE
TAUTEKE	Nurlan Bizakov	Roger Varian

 

16 go forward - 15 six-day confirmations plus 1 supplementary entry - Mehdaayih

7 Irish-trained

Investec Coronation Cup

Group 1, £444,750 total prize fund. 1m 4f 6y, 3.10pm, Epsom Downs, Friday, May 31. For four-year-olds and upwards; Weights: colts and geldings 9st, fillies 8st 11lb. Horses will only be eligible to run provided they have attained a BHA rating of 80 or higher. Horses who do not qualify for a rating may also be eligible providing the BHA Handicapper is satisfied that the horse's racecourse performances up to and including the day before confirmation merit a provisional assessment of 80 or more. Horses who have not run will not be eligible. Entries closed April 9, entries revealed April 10 (26 entries), scratchings deadline May 14 (18 remained), six-day confirmations & £25,000 supplementary stage May 25 (13 confirmations plus 1 supplementary entry - Old Persian), final declarations 10am May 29.

Horse	Age	Owner	Trainer
COMMUNIQUE (IRE)	4	Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum	Mark Johnston
CORONET	5	Denford Stud	John Gosden
CYPRESS CREEK (IRE)	4	Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier	Aidan O'Brien IRE
DEFOE (IRE)	5	Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum	Roger Varian
FLAG OF HONOUR (IRE)	4	Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith	Aidan O'Brien IRE
HUNTING HORN (IRE)	4	Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith	Aidan O'Brien IRE
KEW GARDENS (IRE)	4	Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor	Aidan O'Brien IRE
LAH TI DAR	4	Lord Lloyd Webber	John Gosden
MAGICAL (IRE)	4	Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor	Aidan O'Brien IRE
MARMELO	6	The Fairy Story Partnership & Aziz Kheir	Hughie Morrison
MILDENBERGER	4	Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum	Mark Johnston
MORANDO (FR)	6	King Power Racing Co Ltd	Andrew Balding
*OLD PERSIAN	4	Godolphin	Charlie Appleby
SALOUEN (IRE)	5	H Balasuriya	Sylvester Kirk

 

14 go forward - 13 six-day confirmations plus 1 supplementary entry - Old Persian

5 Irish-trained