Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-05-05
The 2026 edition has been run. Next: Irish Derby Festival 2027, Friday 25 to Sunday 27 June 2027.
Irish Derby FestivalSunday 3 May 2026, 1:45pm BST. Newmarket. Oliver Brown Pretty Polly Stakes (Listed), 1m2f, 3yo fillies. Going: Good to Firm. Winning time 2m 03.00s.
Jennifer Jane (New Bay) wins the 2026 Pretty Polly Stakes under Silvestre De Sousa for Charlie Johnston, bolting up by 6 lengths from Sacred Ground (Gosden) in a front-running performance that re-shapes the 2026 Oaks form picture.
The story was the way she won. Jennifer Jane made all the running -- established an immediate advantage and maintained it decisively. The 6L margin is the biggest in the Pretty Polly's modern record. Spinning Lizzie (Newland & Insole) was 1/2 L further back in third; the pre-race favourite Esna was only 4th, beaten well over 6 lengths.
Charlie Johnston post-race: "I wasn't certain the step up in trip would work, but you have to be adaptable and think on your feet. This trip feels right and she has a nice blend of speed and stamina" [TDN].
The 2026 Oaks implications are immediate. Jennifer Jane was not entered for the Epsom Oaks before the race; Johnston confirmed entries "might have to change now" -- suggesting a supplementary entry is being considered. Her Pretty Polly form line at the trip (1m2f) is short of the Oaks 1m4f distance, and Johnston specifically said "I wouldn't have thought you would come back two furlongs after that" in response to the Curragh Irish 1000 Guineas option (which she's already entered for).
For the Coolmore filly division: Sacred Ground's Gosden 2nd-place form line is a useful Musidora pointer (Wed 13 May at York) but the gap to the winner -- 6 lengths -- means Jennifer Jane sits at the head of the non-Coolmore Oaks form line for 2026.
For Esna: the pre-race favourite's 4th-of-6 finish is the biggest disappointment for the trends-pattern. Esna had been priced as the Pretty Polly form-line carrier into the Musidora and the Oaks; the 6L+ defeat reshapes that route entirely.
This piece walks through the full result + market trajectory, post-race quotes from Johnston, De Sousa and Gosden, and the implications for the Curragh Irish 1000 Guineas (23 May), the Musidora (13 May) and the Epsom Oaks (5 June).
For our broader Oaks coverage see the Epsom Oaks 2026 preview, the Cheshire Oaks 2026 preview (race tomorrow 6 May) and the Musidora Stakes 2026 preview.
Full result
| Pos | Filly | Sire | Trainer | Jockey | Beaten distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer Jane | New Bay | Charlie Johnston | Silvestre De Sousa | -- |
| 2 | Sacred Ground | Kingman | J & T Gosden | not confirmed | 6L |
| 3 | Spinning Lizzie | Kameko | Newland & Insole | not confirmed | 1/2 L (6 1/2 L overall) |
| 4 | Esna (pre-race favourite) | -- | -- | -- | not confirmed (well-beaten) |
| 5 | Brigid's Well | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 6 | Maldives | -- | -- | -- | -- |
[Source: TDN race report 3 May 2026; Sky Sports / Racing Post results 3 May 2026.]
Going: Good to Firm Winning time: 2m 03.00s -- a strong gallop given the front-running shape Distance: 1m2f (10 furlongs) Field size: 6 fillies Race status: Listed (£60,000 prize money) Stewards' enquiry: none reported
Race shape and how the winner won
Jennifer Jane made all the running -- a deliberate front-running tactic from De Sousa that worked perfectly. The mare established an immediate advantage from the gates, was clear by halfway, and kept extending in the closing stages to win by 6 lengths.
The closing fractions [from TDN report]: Jennifer Jane was never seriously challenged -- the 6L margin grew rather than shrank in the final furlong. Sacred Ground (J & T Gosden) ran on dourly through the closing stages but the gap to the winner was unbridgeable. Spinning Lizzie kept on at one pace.
Esna's defeat was the headline disappointment. The pre-race favourite -- who had finished 2 1/4 lengths fourth in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp last autumn -- had been backed at 5/2-3/1 SP but never landed a blow at the trip step-up. Whether she didn't stay 1m2f, didn't handle the going, or simply wasn't right is the open question; expect the trainer to comment in the post-race week.
Market trajectory
| Time | Esna (pre-race fav) | Jennifer Jane | Sacred Ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antepost (28 April) | 5/2 | 14/1 | 7/1 |
| Race-day (3 May, morning) | 11/4 | 8/1 | 8/1 |
| SP | not confirmed (likely 11/4-3/1) | not confirmed (8/1 forecast) | not confirmed (~7/1) |
Jennifer Jane's market path was the strongest behavioural signal of the weekend after the 1000 Guineas. She'd been a 14/1 outsider in the early ante-post but drifted shorter through the build-up as Charlie Johnston's stable form held up. The 8/1 forecast price reflected the bookmakers' caution about a 5-start filly stepping up to 1m2f for the first time. The 6L winning margin justified the conviction.
Charlie Johnston's stable has been a quiet success story of 2026 -- the Middleham operation continued to land Listed and Group 3 victories through April with a strong filly-bench. The Jennifer Jane win is the strongest single Charlie Johnston filly performance of 2026 so far.
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Post-race quotes from connections
Charlie Johnston (winning trainer)
On the trip-step-up:
"I wasn't certain the step up in trip would work, but you have to be adaptable and think on your feet. This trip feels right and she has a nice blend of speed and stamina" [TDN].
On the Oaks question:
"She's in the Irish 1000 Guineas, but I wouldn't have thought you would come back two furlongs after that" -- but Johnston explicitly added that she wasn't yet entered in the Epsom Oaks, and acknowledged that entries "might have to change now" following this victory.
The Oaks-entry pivot is the major editorial story. A 6L Pretty Polly winner at the trip would normally be a strong case for an Oaks supplementary entry at the rate that emerges (typically GBP 30,000-£75,000 for a Listed-graduate filly).
Silvestre De Sousa (winning jockey)
The front-running tactic was deliberate. De Sousa's 2026 Listed strike rate has been excellent -- he's the experienced senior jockey on the Charlie Johnston filly bench, and the Pretty Polly was the kind of confident-front-running ride he's known for.
J & T Gosden (Sacred Ground)
Sacred Ground's 2nd was a respectable Listed effort but the 6L margin to Jennifer Jane marks her down vs the trip step-up. The Musidora at York (Wed 13 May) is the natural Sacred Ground next-route -- Gosden have form running their Pretty Polly second-string in the Musidora as a 1m2 1/2 f trial.
Esna's connections
The pre-race favourite's 4th-of-6 finish leaves her connections with a route decision to make. The Curragh Irish 1000 Guineas (23 May) is her natural fall-back -- she's mile-bred and the 1m2f trip clearly didn't suit. The Pretty Polly form line into the Oaks is now broken for Esna; her route to Group 1 success runs through the Curragh, not Epsom.
Implications for the rest of the spring
The Curragh Irish 1000 Guineas (Sat 23 May)
Jennifer Jane is entered for the Curragh Irish 1000 Guineas -- but Johnston's quote ("I wouldn't have thought you would come back two furlongs after that") suggests she is unlikely to run at the Curragh given she's now proven at 1m2f.
Esna remains entered for the Curragh -- and after the Pretty Polly defeat, the Curragh becomes her route back to Group 1 form-line credibility. She'll likely face True Love (the 1000 Guineas winner) at the Curragh.
For our Curragh Irish 1000G coverage timeline see the 1000 Guineas 2026 result piece.
The Musidora Stakes at York (Wed 13 May)
Sacred Ground (Gosden, 2nd in the Pretty Polly) is the natural Musidora candidate after the trip step-up worked well enough to suggest she'll improve again. The Musidora is open in 2026 because Aidan O'Brien sent Amelia Earhart to Cheshire (see Cheshire Oaks 2026 preview) and John & Thady Gosden's I'm The One went to Cheshire at the 5-day declarations.
The Musidora becomes a rebuilding race for the non-Coolmore Oaks form line. Spinning Lizzie (Newland & Insole, 3rd in the Pretty Polly) and Sacred Ground are the two natural Musidora candidates. Felicitas (Ed Walker) also remains live for the Musidora.
For our Musidora preview see Musidora Stakes 2026 preview.
The Epsom Oaks (Fri 5 June)
Jennifer Jane's Oaks entry is now the big editorial story. If Charlie Johnston supplements her, the 2026 Oaks picture re-shapes:
- I'm The One (Gosden, 4/6F at Cheshire on Wed 6 May) -- the Newbury Listed pivot is now off the table; Cheshire is her trial
- Amelia Earhart (Coolmore, 5/2 at Cheshire) -- the Coolmore Oaks lead via Cheshire
- Jennifer Jane (Charlie Johnston, supplementary entry pending) -- the 6L Pretty Polly winner could become the Oaks 4th or 5th in the betting
Editorial read: the 2026 Epsom Oaks is becoming the most-anticipated Coolmore-Gosden-Johnston three-way the Oaks has produced in modern times. Each yard has a credible lead; each is built on different qualifying form lines; the trends-scorecard format applied to this race in 4 weeks' time will read very cleanly.
For the dedicated Oaks preview see our Epsom Oaks 2026 preview.
Charlie Johnston's 2026 form line
Charlie Johnston's wider 2026 form has been quietly excellent. The Middleham operation continues to land Listed and Group races at a higher rate than the same period in 2025. Jennifer Jane is the marquee 2026 Oaks-pipeline horse from the yard if Johnston supplements her at Epsom.
For our broader Oaks coverage timeline see the Cheshire Oaks 2026 preview (race Wed 6 May) and the Epsom Oaks 2026 preview.
Responsible note
This piece is a transparent application of the trends-scorecard format to the Pretty Polly Stakes result. The result confirmed the format's continued ceiling -- the bookies got it wrong (Esna pre-race favourite finished 4th of 6) and so did our pre-race trends read. As we've documented in our in-house AI horse racing model write-up, no model or trend system reliably beats efficient bookmaker prices. The Pretty Polly result is the second consecutive Listed-or-Group-1 race where the favourite has flopped (after the 1000 Guineas where Precise was 7th); this is a cautionary tale for the trend-scorecard system, not a victory lap. Bet only money you can afford to lose, set limits, BeGambleAware.org.
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