'We were in a bit of trouble' - Savethelastdance hits 999-1 in running before flying home for Irish Oaks glory

Extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary. Just how extraordinary? Well, she traded at the maximum price of 999-1 in running on Betfair.

She was first off the bridle and looked booked for fourth at best entering the final furlong. She was gobbled up by Bluestocking within a few strides shortly after passing the two-furlong pole and was reading all the articles about how her Cheshire Oaks victory was an aberration; she was well and truly stuffed.

Yet, somehow, Savethelastdance is now a Classic-winning filly. Now there is a sentence we never thought we would be saying until about five strides from the line in the 128th running of the Juddmonte Irish Oaks. There might have been more talented winners of it over the years, Enable immediately springing to mind, but there can't have been many tougher ones.

It was Aidan O'Brien's seventh win in this particular Classic as he belatedly overtook Sir Michael Stoute at the top of the roll of honour, while Ryan Moore was winning it for the third time having steered Snow Fairy to success in 2010 and Snowfall in 2021. Even the master of disguise himself could not hide just how extraordinary his latest Classic success was.

"We were in a bit of trouble," admitted Moore and with that the award for Understatement of the Year 2023 was handed out in July. 

He added: "She stays very well, though, and she's still learning. She still races a bit babyish and has done on all her starts with me this year. Obviously, she's very tough. I'd say all that rain helped her. I do think there's definitely more to come. She had been off since Epsom and I'd say she will build on this. 

Ryan Moore: "I was concerned for about half a mile, but she got there"Credit: Patrick McCann

"She never had any right to finish second at Epsom and she did. I really think there is a lot of talent there. I was concerned for about half a mile, but she got there."

She did indeed get there and Moore had a lot to do with that, according to O'Brien. "Ryan gave her a brilliant ride; he remotivated her," he said. "When she was in a little bit of trouble he kept her coming forward without panicking and got her out. Then he asked her to come again. It's a very difficult thing to motivate a horse on that type of ground but she did answer for him. He was brilliant on her.”

Hear, hear, Aidan. As magnificent as Moore was, Savethelastdance needed to be brave, too, and she won a shade snugly by half a length. There was €14 matched at 1,000 on the exchanges. A penny for the thoughts of those luckless layers. This is a filly you can never lay a big price about because she never knows when she is beaten.

O'Brien said of his latest Classic winner: "It's a long time since she ran in the Oaks and she had a break after Epsom too. Obviously, we knew this was her first run back for an autumn campaign. She's big and relaxed, and obviously the ground was  different than what she ran on last time. The lads were delighted with her at home – she was thriving and doing great.

"Chris's filly [Hayes on seventh-placed Azazat] just came around her when she was just starting to get going and she might have got a little bit intimidated by her. I'd say she's going to sharpen up a good bit from today. She's a massive, big masculine filly and has a big, strong backside on her. She's out of a Scat Daddy mare and obviously by Galileo. All the Galileo came out when Ryan really wanted her, she got down for him."

On her future, he added: "It's very possible she'll stay in training. The lads have been doing that if everything is well over the last few years. If they decided that we'd be delighted. We're treating this as her first run of an autumn campaign. She had her time after the Oaks to build into this."

When asked whether the St Leger might be her ultimate aim, O'Brien said: "Obviously, we know she stays very well and I'd say she's going to sharpen up a good bit from today."

It was hard not to feel a bit of sympathy for Ralph Beckett and all concerned with Bluestocking. She did just about everything right, yet still lost.

Beckett put on a brave face afterwards. Not even a soaked Curragh when you have got mugged close home in a Classic could dampen his spirits, so kudos to him for that.

“Everything went right and we were just beaten by a better one,” he said with a wry smile. Someone else standing in the number two spot having had a foot and four toes in the winner's enclosure might not have been so magnanimous in defeat. 

Bluestocking was beaten but quite how she was beaten had to be seen to be believed. Extraordinary is the only word for it. 

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