As Galileo Dame holds the lead at Chester on Wednesday, Joseph O'Brien will have the opportunity to join his father Aidan on the roll of honour, having watched him win the Weatherbys E-Passport Cheshire Oaks a record eight times.
The daughter of Galileo Gold opened her account at Leopardstown last month, building on a promising debut performance at Gowran late last year to defeat his father's Rubies Are Red.
After winning the maiden contest by three and a half lengths, she is now ready to go up to Pattern Company, where her handler is excited to put her skills to the test on this raiding mission to the Roodee.
“She won really nicely at Leopardstown and now steps up slightly in trip which we think she will handle fine,” said O’Brien. “Her two runs so far have been on soft ground, so getting on better ground will be a slight unknown for her. However, we think she is a nice filly who will be able to hold her own in Listed company going forward.”
In addition to the previously mentioned Rubies Are Red, Aidan O'Brien will also put Port Fairy, the Dundalk maiden winner, in the race that he has won five times in the previous ten years.
Ralph Beckett, who also has a strong claim with Wolverhampton's impressive scorer Forest Fairy, is saddling second in the race. Seaward, who was thrown into Group One company when he was last seen at the end of 2023, is also a contender.
The former has entries in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Ascot and the Betfred Oaks at Epsom, and her handler is excited to watch her race for just the second time.
“It was a good first time and I don’t think we were expecting it,” said Beckett. “She has done well for the time she has been given in between. She’s a tall, well-balanced filly who has worked well on the grass at home and we’re looking forward to it. This is the right place for her and she’s been training well in the run up to it.”
On Seaward, he added: “We set her a stiff task last year, but she has wintered well and she’s a handy filly who will handle the track well in our view. We’re drawn well with both fillies which is always a big help (at Chester).”