William Haggas on mission to prove Dancing Rain is no one-hit wonder

Dancing Rain, ridden by Johnny Murtagh, won the Oaks at Epsom last month. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

There is no room for sentiment in a betting market, even one that includes a Classic winner. It is little more than a month since Dancing Rain added her name to a list that stretches back to 1779 when she won the Oaks at Epsom, yet she may not start as even the second-favourite when she lines up for the Irish equivalent at The Curragh on Sunday. Wonder Of Wonders, second at Epsom, is the certain favourite, which means that the market has taken a very long look at the Oaks form and remains thoroughly unconvinced.

Dancing Rain's success last month was a surprise for the punters as she started at 20-1, but Classics are, by their nature, full of young, unexposed horses, and plenty of big-priced winners have gone on to prove that they were very much the best in the race.

The manner of the win, though, was unexpected too, as Johnny Murtagh was gifted an easy lead by his opponents and duly exploited it like the outstanding rider he is. Wonder Of Wonders, with Kieren Fallon in the saddle, was better placed than the rest of the field as she raced in second place throughout, but still could not catch Dancing Rain after Murtagh grabbed the first run a quarter of a mile from home.

It was a clever and resourceful ride by Murtagh, but Classics are designed to find the best horses rather than the smartest jockeys. Nothing can ever deprive Dancing Rain of her victory at Epsom, but Murtagh's opponents are unlikely to let him pull the same trick twice, and Sunday's race at The Curragh should determine whether Dancing Rain was the best filly in the field last month, or merely the most fortunate.

In addition to Wonder Of Wonders, two more of the nine runners on Sunday will be saddled by Aidan O'Brien, who has won the three previous Classics staged in Ireland this year, and 26 in all. Blue Bunting, who won the English 1,000 Guineas for Godolphin, will also cross the Irish Sea, and though she was only fourth behind Dancing Rain at Epsom, it is quite possible she will end up as the punters' second-choice.

"There you go," her trainer William Haggas said on Friday when reminded of the Classic betting. "That's the power of Mr O'Brien versus Mr Haggas, but it will be a very interesting race and the price she is makes no difference to me.

"Everyone seems to think that Aidan's filly was a bit unfortunate at Epsom and we stole the race, which is up to them. I thought that Dancing Rain got a very good ride, and I also thought Wonder Of Wonders had every chance to beat her and didn't. I don't think our filly did anything wrong at all.

"[The runner-up] may not have handled the track, but Johnny said on the day of the Oaks that our filly would like The Curragh, which is a good, galloping track. She doesn't need to lead, she just wants a good gallop, and if she has to set it herself, so be it."

Dancing Rain was not one of the initial entries in Sunday's Classic and needed to be supplemented to get a run. The Epsom prize money was more than enough to cover the fee, though, while Dancing Rain's value as a broodmare would also increase significantly if she could become a dual Classic winner.

"It cost €42,500 [?39,500] to supplement, so in terms of the prize money she is probably about a 6-1 shot," Haggas said. "The trainer never has any qualms about supplementing horses, it's the owner who has to pay, but they were keen to go. The Irish Classics close ridiculously early, which is probably why Aidan O'Brien has so many runners in them. He has a lot of horses entered and very few others do.

"Dancing Rain's form has worked out well. In her trial before Epsom, she was second to Izzi Top, who was third in the Oaks, and the third home in the trial was Rumh, who won a Listed race next time by six lengths. It's going to be a very fair test on Sunday. If she's good enough, she'll win, and if she isn't, she won't."

At Newbury on Saturday a filly displayed promise for next year's Classics. Lady Gorgeous won the Highclere Fillies Stakes for trainer Mick Channon and bookmakers quoted her at odds varying from 25-1 to 50-1 for the 1,000 Guineas.

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