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The Oaks is the fillies’ equivalent of the Derby, a Group 1 Classic run over the same 1m4f at Epsom on the day before the colts take centre stage. First staged in 1779, it is one of the oldest races in the world and forms part of the fillies’ Triple Crown alongside the 1,000 Guineas and the St Leger. Thundering On won the 2026 renewal for Joseph O’Brien, coming from last to first under Dylan Browne McMonagle.
It is one of the first major staying tests of the Flat season, and the form often shapes the months that follow, which is why it features so often in ante-post picks for the big summer targets. The race also ranks among the most followed of early June for anyone who likes to bet on horse racing.
In this article, we look back at the last five winners of the Oaks.
2026: Thundering On
Joseph O’Brien landed his first Epsom Classic as a trainer when Thundering On powered home in 2026. A daughter of Frankel, she was settled at the back early by Dylan Browne McMonagle before quickening past John and Thady Gosden’s Legacy Link to win by nearly four lengths. O’Brien rode Camelot to Derby glory for his father Aidan in 2012, yet the Oaks had eluded him until now. Few fillies have travelled as sweetly through the race in recent seasons.
2025: Minnie Hauk
12 months earlier, Aidan O’Brien completed a one-two. Minnie Hauk, ridden by Ryan Moore, edged out stablemate Whirl by a neck, with the unbeaten favourite Desert Flower back in third. It was O’Brien’s 11ᵗʰ Oaks and his 46ᵗʰ British Classic, extending records he already held. Moore, riding his fifth Oaks winner, judged a tight finish to perfection.
2024: Ezeliya
Ezeliya broke the recent grip of O’Brien and the Gosdens in 2024. Trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, she stayed on strongly to beat Dance Sequence by two lengths. The win came 43 years after Weld had taken the same race with Blue Wind in 1981, and gave Hayes his first British Classic. It was a reminder that the Oaks does not always fall to the biggest stables.
2023: Soul Sister
In 2023, Soul Sister gave Frankie Dettori a seventh Oaks win, in what was his last ride in the race before leaving European racing. Trained by John and Thady Gosden and owned by Lady Bamford, the Frankel filly had won the Musidora Stakes at York as her main prep. Dettori timed his challenge late, and the result sent one of the crowd’s favourite riders off in style.
2022: Tuesday
The run of five begins with Tuesday in 2022, another O’Brien winner under Ryan Moore. A daughter of Galileo and a sister to the 2016 Oaks heroine Minding, she came good on the day to give Moore his fourth win in the race. Tuesday carried the familiar Coolmore silks that have rarely been far from the Oaks frame, and her win was part of a stretch in which the Classic seldom escaped Ballydoyle.
Two themes stand out across these five years. The first is the influence of Frankel, sire of both Soul Sister and Thundering On, and the second is the strength of the O’Brien family, who have won three of the last five runnings.
