DIAMOND dealer Anthony Oppenheimer is hoping to put the final jewel in his Classic crown at Epsom this afternoon.
The leading owner has Frankly Darling in the Oaks and she can fill the gap in his glittering CV.
Oppenheimer, 83, whose black, white and red colours have been worn by the likes of Golden Horn and Cracksman in recent years, said: “I would absolutely love to win the Oaks — it’s the only British Classic we haven’t bred the winner of and it’s one of my big ambitions.
“It won’t be easy, of course, but let’s hope this filly can do it.”
On The House was the first to carry the Oppenheimer colours to Classic success in the 1982 1,000 Guineas.
Golden Horn was next to triumph in the black and white silks when winning the 2015 Derby for the same Gosden-Dettori double act who will team up with Frankly Darling.
In between came breeding success with Footstepsinthesand’s 2005 2,000 Guineas win, trained by Aidan O’Brien in the colours of Michael Tabor.
Ironically, it is the same owner and trainer who stand in the way of Frankly Darling and Oaks glory, as the bookies reckon it will be a duel on the Downs between the Ribblesdale hero and Guineas winner Love this afternoon.
Oppenheimer added: “It was fantastic to watch her at Royal Ascot.
“We thought she was useful, but to see her win the way she did was very nice. To have a big winner like that was really good.
“There’ll be only one of ours at Epsom though and there might be ten or more from Coolmore, which will be interesting!”
And with owners now back on racecourses, Oppenheimer can’t wait to be at Epsom as his Darling bids to complete the Classic set.
He added: “As long as we’re allowed to be there, there’s no way I won’t be. We know we’ve been very lucky with our horses recently.
“We have a great team and to be able to have people like John Gosden training them, we feel very fortunate.”
