Ribblesdale Stakes winner Star Catcher will have to be at her best to win the Irish Oaks on Saturday, jockey Frankie Dettori says.
John Gosden’s charge impressed when overcoming favourite Fleeting to take the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot last month and is now in the mix for the Irish Oaks at the Curragh this weekend.
Star Catcher has had a good year so far overall as she also won at Newbury in April before following that up with a third-place finish at the same venue in May. It will be another step up for the Irish Oaks, with the likes of Pink Dogwood, Iridessa and Fleeting, again, to take on, but Dettori believes she should be able to handle it.
He said: “Star Catcher seems in good form but she’s got to take on the very best now. She won her Group Two at Ascot, but Classics are very hard to win.
We’ll be trying our very best. “Her home work has always been good, and Ascot wasn’t a surprise to us because she has taken a good step forward every time she ran.”
He added: “She’ll have to do that again to feature in the finish on Saturday. But at the moment all the home work has been very good, and I can’t wait to get back to the Curragh again.”
