Stoute in need of an Oaks lift from Liber Nauticus

Victory would also be a morale boost to Sir Michael Stoute, the former champion trainer who has been battling ill health and a loss of form at his previously all-conquering Newmarket yard which previously won the Oaks with Fair Salinia (1978) and Unite (1987).

Unlike Sir Henry Cecil, the other great knight of racing whose struggle with cancer has touched the hearts of the racing world, Stoute is a man of few words who is uneasy in the public spotlight; he prefers to allow his horses to do the talking.

But there was a trace of confidence behind his pre-race remarks yesterday as he reflected on the form, to date, of Liber Nauticus, who will only be having her third career start in this one-and-a-half-mile test for fillies.

Victorious when landing her maiden race at Goodwood towards the end of last season, Liber Nauticus – owned and bred by the Ballymacoll Stud that has enjoyed an illustrious relationship with the Stoute stable – confirmed her class in the Musidora just over a fortnight ago.

Though she did not win by a wide margin under Ryan Moore who is back in the saddle today, she gave the impression of having more improvement to come.

“She’s a fine, big athlete who does very little at home,” said Stoute.

“I thought in the Musidora she did well. She wasn’t spectacular, but that was never going to be her style. Mentally it will have sharpened her up for the Oaks and we go there with a good chance.”

That view was shared by Stoute’s close confidante Michael Holding, the legendary West Indian fast bowler who is a regular early morning fixture on the Newmarket gallops when his cricket commentary duties with Sky Sports permit.

“She’s in good order and has done everything Michael expects of her,” Holding told the Yorkshire Post.

“She’s never been a great work horse who goes five, six or seven lengths clear but she does what she has to do and the ground will definitely suit after the rain.”

Noting the yard’s disappointed that the highly-rated Telescope had to miss both York’s Dante Stakes, and now the Derby, because of injury, Holding added: “The vet has not been involved with Liber Nauticus, but don’t write off Telescope – I expect him to win some very big races later in the season.”

The one to beat is Ralph Beckett’s Secret Gesture as the trainer looks to follow up on his shock success in the 2008 Oaks with 33-1 outsider Look Here.

A 10-length winner of Lingfield’s Oaks Trial, a course with undulations that provided horses with a foretaste of Tattenhall Hill and Tattenham Corner which they encounter today, Secret Gesture could be a first English Classic win for jockey Jim Crowley.

He actually began his career over jumps in Yorkshire at the High Eldwick yard of Grand National-winning couple Sue and Harvey Smith before making a successful switch to the Flat once he realised that he could control his weight.

“Obviously she’s favourite, she won her race at Lingfield very well. You’d have to be fearful of Moth and Liber Nauticus but I wouldn’t swap her for those two,” said Crowley, who is looking to emerge from the shadow of more high-profile riders.

“You need a bit of luck around there, obviously, but I’m looking forward to it. Her work is effortless at home and her last two wins have been the same which is why she is held in such high regard.

“She’s by a really good stallion (Galileo) who is producing the goods and there’ll be more to come from her. It looks like the ground is also going our way.”

Gertrude Versed’s half-sister Gertrude Bell finished fourth in the 2010 Oaks and has reasonably similar credentials.

Trained by John Gosden, as well as being owned and bred by his wife Rachel Hood, she ran through the winter on the all-weather but earned her place when second to Banoffee at Chester.

She’ll be ridden by William Buick, who rides Yorkshire runner Libertarian in the Derby tomorrow.

“She’s very tough, she’s got a good level of ability but whether she’ll be able to win or not, I’m not sure. She’s very straightforward and I think she’ll be able to handle the track,” he said.

In many respects, the Oaks could be more competitive than the blue riband Derby – Aidan O’Brien holds Moth in the highest of regards. She was a slightly unlucky third in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and the runner up, Just The Judge, won the Irish equivalent six days ago.

And then there is Banoffee – supplemented into the race at a cost of £30,000 after coming from an impossible position to win the Cheshire Oaks and deny Gertrude Versed.

She is trained by Hughie Morrison whose Shirrocco Star was second to Was 12 months ago in a race that saw the aforementioned Buick’s mount, The Fugue, suffer considerable interference.

“When we had the chance to make the entry I thought I would be being wildly optimistic if I did as I’d never seriously worked her at home,” explained Morrison, who trains near Lambourn.

“I don’t feel you can do too much with three-year-old fillies, just a few nice canters. You can’t really do ability finding work, she did that at Chester.”

Another plus for Banoffee is that she’s the mount of a resurgent Kieren Fallon, who is seeking his fifth Oaks win.

“Her chances rest on whether or not I can get her to settle in the early stages. If she does, the win is on as she has an electric turn of foot,” he said. “I am more worried about Liber Nauticus. I rode this filly on her only start last year when victorious at Goodwood, and she felt like an Oaks type.”