THE WILLIAM HAGGAS-trained Dancing Rain sprang a surprise in this afternoon’s Epsom Oaks, coming home three-quarters of a length ahead of the field under the guidance of Johnny Murtagh.
The 20/1 shot beat fancied Ballydoyle chance Wonder of Wonders (3/1) into second place with another outsider, Izzi Top (25/1), beating Frankie Dettori and Blue Bunting in a photo for third.
Dettori now faces a ten-day riding ban after a stewards’ inquiry found that he had dropped his hands and not ridden the horse out to the finish, allowing jockey William Buick to rally Izzi Top into the final place.
“We set a nice pace but she was ducking and diving, so I knew there was loads left in the tank,” Murtagh told BBC Sport after the race. “I picked her up in the last half-mile and it worked really well for her.”
I knew Group Ones were going to be hard to come by this year. William rang me up for the ride and I was delighted to take it. You need to be in the big races and you need to be on a good one.
