A cracking card of Open racing at Oxford, on Friday night, included two hot semi-finals of the BGBF British Bred Oaks. Fabulous Azurra and No Rush were the pick of the semi-finalists and now go head-to-head in a captivating final next week.
English Derby quarter finalist, Fabulous Azurra, booked her place in the final in Heat 1. Patrick Janssen’s blue beauty made no mistake on the Oxfordshire oval, winning in the fastest of the night time of 26.87.
Pinging the lids from Trap 4, Azurra made all, while behind her, the first bend became more congested than a motorway on a bank holiday.
Fabulous Silence, in the striped jacket, and Singalong Stacey, in the white jacket, came together when the former tried to cut across the latter’s path. The result was a bump that all but ended Fabulous Silence’s chances as she was forced wide, doing well just to stay upright.
With Fabulous Azurra on the bunny, the battle for the other two final places saw Shockwave Amber lead the chasing pack until the final bend where a resurgent Singalong Stacey mounted a challenge on the run-in to finish second. Kevin Hutton’s black Dec-20 bitch could certainly upset the favourites if she can get away better than she did on Friday.
Heat 2 saw the favourite, Moments of Magic taken out of contention at the first bend. Hutton’s brindled Jan-20 flyer was unable to squeeze between the red and black jackets, allowing 22/1 shot Flyhigh Artist to go clear.
Carol Weatherall’s wide running Sussex Cup and Brighton Belle finalist, No Rush was never going to be shaken off, and it was no surprise when she outpaced the orange jacket at the top of the back straight before going on to win by 3 3/4 in 26.90.
Picking a winner for the final may not be an easy task, although if Fabulous Azurra breaks like she did yesterday there may be no catching her. No Rush will need a clear first bend if she is to challenge, as will Hutton’s Singalong Stacey.
However, finals are one-off races and anything can and often does happen. I’ll be looking for a price on Singalong Stacey to flip the semi-final form on it’s head. She’s beaten No Rush at Towcester, earlier in the year, and looks a pacier individual than Fabulous Azurra.
Finalists: Fabulus Azurra, No Rush, Singalong Stacey, Flyhigh Artist, Shockwave Wicca, Shockwave Amber