Bookies relish thought of raider

Relish The Thought, third to Imagine at Epsom, has been installed as low as 7 to 2 favourite for Sunday's Kildangan Stud Irish Oaks at the Curragh.

The injury mishap to Imagine has thrown the classic wide open and Ed Dunlop's decision to supplement Lailani yesterday at a cost of £28,000 has resulted in a 15-strong entry.

Aidan O'Brien, yet to win the Irish Oaks, but still on course for a clean sweep of the home classics this year, has six fillies still in but insisted yesterday that no decision on the final make up of the Ballydoyle team for Sunday has been taken.

"We will wait and see for a couple of days and decide closer to the time," said O'Brien, who added that the double classic winner Imagine will be given time to recover from her stone bruise injury.

At the moment, the Moyglare winner Sequoyah and the French 1,000 Guineas winner Rose Gypsy stand out among the O'Brien entries but Karsavina and Snowflake (fourth and 11th to Rebelline in the Pretty Polly) also figure.

That didn't stop Paddy Power making Relish The Thought their favourite, however and a spokesperson for Barry Hills confirmed: "She is an intended runner and I expect Michael Hills will ride."

However, the John Dunlop-trained Time Away is a 4 to 1 joint favourite with Relish The Thought in the Cashman book and only Sequoyah on 11 to 2 prevents total cross-channel domination of the top fancies.

As well as the supplemented Lailani, Newmarket-based Ed Dunlop also has Mot Juste in the race.

Much will depend on the weather outlook with up five millimetres of rain a day forecast between now and Sunday.

"The ground was on the fast side of good this morning but we have had heavy showers. Potentially they are talking about quite a bit of rain during the week, between five and 10 millimetres each day," said the Curragh manager Jason Morris yesterday.