Fastnet filly Somehow enters Oaks picture with stakes win

She has the pedigree to win a G1 Oaks and Somehow (3f Fastnet Rock-Alexandrova, by Sadler’s Wells) put in a performance to prove herself a live Classic contender when winning the Listed Cheshire Oaks at Chester on Wednesday. Out of the 2006 Oaks heroine Alexandrova, she is a daughter of Fastnet Rock, who sired the 2015 winner Qualify (4f Fastnet Rock-Perihelion, by Galileo), and Somehow looks on the upgrade after this latest win. A Leopardstown maiden winner on her previous run, she was waited with patiently by Ryan Moore at Chester before swooping to get up in the closing stages. “She always felt like she would do enough and I was very pleased with her. She’s very green and inexperienced,” said Moore. Trainer Aidan O’Brien added: “She’s very docile at home. No matter what you work her with, she works to it and pricks her ears. Ryan gave her a marvellous ride and taught her plenty. She’s a lovely filly and still asleep. “We bring them to Chester to try and sharpen up their minds mentally. We just try and wake them up a bit. “It’s a beautiful pedigree and you’d think the trip at Epsom shouldn’t be a problem on breeding. She was only going to have one run if she was going to Epsom and we thought this was the best place to teach her. We’ll see how she is over the next couple of weeks.”