Santa Barbara's big chance to show us why Aidan O'Brien thinks she is so special

For a man whose primary professional focus is training top-class colts to win stallion-making races and ensure the continued prosperity of his employers, Aidan O'Brien has quietly become a master with Group 1 fillies.

Sir Henry Cecil, Criquette Head and Sir Michael Stoute might all be rated as especially gifted for their handling of fillies at the top level, but consider the riches housed within Ballydoyle over the last half a dozen years, including the likes of Minding, Found, Winter and Magical.

Yet when you listen to O'Brien talk about Santa Barbara ahead of Friday's Cazoo Oaks (4.30), the suspicion grows that he might have one to eclipse all four of them – not perhaps by accumulating long lists of victories but by dint of pure brilliance.