Snow Fairy powers to victory in Irish Oaks at The Curragh

Snow Fairy proved that her Epsom Oaks victory was no fluke by romping home a runaway eight-length winner of the Irish equivalent at The Curragh yesterday, for Ed Dunlop. She is all set to follow in the hoofprints of the trainer's outstanding mare, Ouija Board, who won this race in 2004. The 7-2 second favourite defied worries about the rain-softened ground to become the 13th filly to complete the double and there will be few who will have won this contest so impressively. The victory provided a stark contrast to her first Classic success, last month, when she had to wait for the gaps in a rough-and-tumble race before holding on grimly from Meeznah. Snow Fairy, who Dunlop did not even consider good enough to enter for Epsom at the beginning of the season, may now attempt to emulate her illustrious predecessor at the Breeders' Cup in America in the autumn. The plan is to keep her in training after her three-year-old season is over. Dunlop said: "It was pretty spectacular really, the way she put the race to bed. Ryan [Moore] said she got bumped at one stage and she would be better on better ground. We were very confident she'd go well on decent ground so I was walking my box a bit today. She is stronger than she was at Epsom and she has a huge heart. "The Yorkshire Oaks is a possibility now. I was successful in persuading her owner to supplement her for this and the Epsom Oaks, so I might try again for the Breeders' Cup. We'd have to start to think of going down a similar road to Ouija Board. I'm reliably informed that once everything is OK, she'll stay in training as a four-year-old." If Dunlop fails to persuade owner Cristina Patino to send Snow Fairy to the States there are plenty of other options available, with William Hill quoting her at 6-1 second favourite for the St Leger and Ladbrokes making her 16-1 for the Arc de Triomphe. The winning rider reported afterwards that Snow Fairy hated the ground, which made her victory all the more meritorious. Hibaayeb, Godolphin's 100-30 favourite, was in mid-division under Frankie Dettori, but weakened quickly in the ground as connections had feared and finished last. Meeznah, who will also be better under more suitable conditions, crossed the line fourth in a tight finish for the minor placings with Godolphin's 33-1 shot Miss Jean Brodie second and Aidan O'Brien's 66-1 outsider Lady Lupus, ridden by his son Joseph, third. Moore has an important week ahead, with the Derby winner Workforce set to reappear in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. But it could not have started better with success in the Irish Oaks following a win aboard the David Wachman-trained Latin Love in a Listed event. The Curragh card opened with a maiden event which has often proved worthy of very close scrutiny. Sea The Stars made his racecourse debut in the race in 2008 while previous winners include the outstanding two-year-old Teofilo and subsequent Derby winner New Approach. Clearly plenty knew in advance that Pathfork was potentially smart and after being backed down to 9-2 second favourite, Jessica Harrington's colt comfortably accounted for the O'Brien-trained odds-on shot Robin Hood. Pathfork was put in at 20-1 for next year's 2,000 Guineas and the bookmakers were similarly impressed by the eight-length defeat of Samuel Morse by Dunboyne Express in the Anglesey Stakes. He is as short as 14-1 for the Newmarket Classic.