Gosden dismisses I'm The One hype after promising Chester Oaks second

John Gosden did not sound like a trainer rattled by a two-length defeat. He sounded like a man trying to slow the rush to label a filly after just two starts, even after I'm The One finished a promising second in the Weatherbys Cheshire Oaks at Chester.

The Sea The Stars filly out of Sunny Queen had gone into the Listed 1m 3f 75y Oaks trial on May 6 as the 6-5 favourite, having announced herself with a six-length win in a 1m2f Newbury maiden on April 17. That debut sent her straight into the Betfred Oaks conversation, but Gosden had already bristled at the noise around her, saying the hype was "stupid." After Chester, he was more interested in what the race taught him than in the narrow reading of the result.

I'm The One was beaten two lengths by Aidan O'Brien's Amelia Earhart, who under Ryan Moore kept the pressure on through Chester's turning track and strengthened her Classic claims in the process. Gosden said his filly showed her greenness and "blew the bend a little bit," a detail that mattered more to him than the final margin. Chester's bends were part of the plan, and Gosden said the run was designed to teach her about the corners she would face at Epsom.

That makes the defeat less a setback than a checkpoint. Gosden said the mile and a half was no problem and that he believed she would handle Epsom, but he also left the door open to the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot. No decision has been made, which is exactly the point: this was never meant to be the finish line for a filly who has raced only twice.

The market still reacted. Bookmakers had already cut I'm The One to around 6/1 for the Betfred Oaks after her Newbury romp, and her price lengthened again after Chester, while Amelia Earhart moved forward as a stronger force in the Oaks picture. For Gosden, though, the bigger lesson was about expectation-setting. A flashy maiden winner can become over-labeled in a hurry. A second-place finish at Chester, on good-to-firm ground and against a serious rival, may tell him far more about I'm The One's next step than the early buzz ever did.