Hibaayeb (blue): after German Oaks success on Sunday

  PICTURE: Martin Lynch  

Godolphin chase German Oaks with Hibaayeb

Preview: Germany, Sunday 4.10pm BST

Dusseldorf: Henkel Preis der Diana Deutsches Stuten Derby (German Oaks) (Group 1) 1m3f, 3yo fillies

GODOLPHIN have sound prospects of pocketing their third German Classic of the season when Hibaayeb (Saeed Bin Suroor/Frankie Dettori) takes on 15 locally trained rivals in the German Oaks at Dusseldorf on Sunday.

Impressive winner of the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, Hibaayeb was then supplemented for the Irish Oaks, in which she was sent off favourite but failed to handle the rain-softened ground and was eased down tofinish last.

She has been supplemented again here (at the cost of €40,000) and, though there was plenty of rain earlier in the week, high temperatures are forecast and the ground is drying out quickly.

Shewill be ridden as usual by Frankie Dettori, who said: "She is a class filly and the only worry is that she does not like it too soft.

"But if the ground is like it was in Munich last Sunday [officially soft but drying out] that would be fine. She's drawn on the wide outside but she's an uncomplicated type and that should be no problem."

Most of her opponents hail from just three yards. Peter Schiergen saddles no fewer than six runners while both Andreas Wohler and Torsten Mundry are treble-handed.

The form of the various Oaks trials has been very confusing but Amare (Mundry/Eugen Frank) beat Warsaw Ballet (Wohler/Josef Bojko) by a length and a quarter, with Nicea, Saldennahe, Amoya, Mountain Rose and Lagalp all further behind, in a Group 3 at this course four weeks ago and there seems no reason why that form should be overturned.

The other recent trial, a Hamburg Group 3 over the full Oaks trip, was won by the British-trained outsider, Miss Starlight, with Elle Shadow (Schiergen/Andrasch Starke) second, Nianga fourth, Waldjagd fifth and Glady Romana sixth.

As Miss Starlight is around 20lb inferior to Hibaayeb on official ratings, the Godolphin filly clearly has excellent prospects.

Indeed, the German handicapper has her 8lb and more clear of Sunday's rivals.