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Cheshire Oaks preview: assessing the pedigree profiles
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Wed 7 May 2025
Bluebloods and big-sellers feature among the seven fillies declared for this year's Listed Weatherbys ePassport Cheshire Oaks at Chester.
Both descriptions fit Leopardstown maiden winner Minnie Hauk, bidding to extend trainer Aidan O’Brien's record of eight winners of the race, who include Group 1 winners Diamondsandrubies, Magic Wand and Savethelastdance.
Bred by Ben Sangster, the bay filly is a Frankel half-sister to Summer Mile winner and Prix d’Ishapan second Tilsit out of Multilingual, who in turn is a Dansili half-sister to champion Kingman. She topped the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale when bought by Coolmore for a cool €1.85 million.
Minnie Hauk is one of two daughters of the incomparable Frankel, who was responsible for 2019 Cheshire Oaks winner Mehdaayih, engaged in the race.
Minnie Hauk en route to victory at Leopardstown last year (Pic: Healy Racing)
The other filly, Queen Of Thieves, is no less than a full-sister to Cracksman, and represents the same team behind the dual champion: trainers John and Thady Gosden and owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer.
Queen Of Thieves and Cracksman are out of the Listed-winning Pivotal mare Rhadegunda, a granddaughter of 1,000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes heroine On The House. This family has already produced a Cheshire Oaks winner in Hidden Hope, who scored impressively in 2004.
Queen Of Thieves, who could be anything on the evidence of her 11-length maiden victory at Yarmouth on her last start, is one of a pair of siblings to Group 1 winners in this year’s Cheshire Oaks, along with Kate O’Riley.
Wolverhampton handicap winner Kate O’Riley is trained by Michael Bell for her owners and breeders the Gredley family, the same connections who campaigned the filly’s Gold Cup-winning half-brother Big Orange.
Kate O’Riley is also a half-sister to The Paris Shrug, the dam of Australian Group 1 victor Deny Knowledge, out of Miss Brown To You, a half-sister to Hong Kong superstar Military Attack and Molecomb Stakes winner Almaty, as well as the dam of popular globetrotter Red Cadeaux.
Kate O’Riley’s sire Sea The Moon is double-handed in the Cheshire Oaks, as he is also represented by Montrose Fillies’ Stakes runner-up Secret Of Love, trained by Andrew Balding for owner-breeder Kirsten Rausing – who stands the sire at her Lanwades Stud in Newmarket.
Secret Of Love is out of the Listed-placed Smart Strike mare So In Love, who in turn is out of the Listed-winning Pivotal mare Soft Morning. Rausing has enjoyed lots of success with this family down the years, most recently with the multiple Group 2 scorer Sandrine.
Airlie Stud and the Niarchos family, also time-honoured owner-breeders, have partnered up on Cheshire Oaks hopeful Modern Utopia, a dual winner at Newmarket and Nottingham last term for George Scott.
Modern Utopia hails from the first crop of Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Sottsass and is a half-sister to US stakes winners Alaura Michele and Isabella Sings. Their Listed-placed dam Isobel Baillie is by Lomitas and related to three-time German Group 1 hero Campanologist.
This year’s Cheshire Oaks field is completed by six-figure yearling purchases Caspi Star and That’s Amore.
Caspi Star, who broke her maiden in decisive fashion at Musselburgh on her last outing, was bred by Highview Stud and is by leading middle-distance sire Camelot and out of the Listed-winning Zoffany mare Encapsulation.
She represents connections with a rich history of success in the race. Trainer Charlie Johnston’s father Mark saddled Good Morning Star to win in 2012 and Dubai Fountain to score in 2021, and owner Nurlan Bizakov’s colours were carried to victory by Anipa in 2014.
That’s Amore, the six-length winner of a Newbury novice stakes last autumn on her only start to date, was bred by the Applecross Syndicate and is a New Bay full-sister to last month’s Earl of Sefton Stakes victor Persica out of New Zealand Listed winner Rubira, by Lope De Vega.
That’s Amore is trained by Ralph Beckett, defending his Cheshire Oaks title having sent out Forest Fairy to score last year, for Lady Bamford.
The omens look good for this year’s contest producing another star following earlier winners Savethelastdance, Magic Wand, Enable, Diamondsandrubies, Light Shift, Bolas, Swiftfoot, Shoot A Line, Dibidale and Lupe.
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