Protectress out of Oaks

Protectress will miss next month's Vodafone Oaks, leaving stablemate Java as trainer Henry Cecil's sole hope of Epsom glory.

Cecil - who numbers seven Oaks victories among his 23 domestic classic triumphs to date, most recently with Love Divine in 2000 - first needs once-raced Java to break her duck in a maiden at Haydock this Saturday.

Since first blazing up the Newmarket gallops early this year following a setback that prevented her from running as a juvenile, Java has chiefly carried the weighty expectations of a yard seeking to recapture its lofty position among the training elite.

Ten times British champion, Cecil last won the title in 1993 and last term even slipped out of the top ten. In 2001, he trained not one horse good or well enough to run in any classic and was also unrepresented in both Newmarket's 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas earlier this month.

Much of Cecil's string has again been slow to come to hand, but recent high-profile victories for Sea Star and High Pitched hinted at revival. At Newbury last Friday,

Protectress finished an encouraging second to Monturani in Newbury's Oaks Trial.

But Cecil believes Epsom, with its tricky camber and undulations, may not suit Protectress - even though she is as short as 10-1 with William Hill. Of the yard's six original Oaks entries - also including Glamour, Love Excelling, Luluwa and injured Revealing - only Java stands her ground at today's forfeit stage.

The remaining four fillies are unlikely to be ready in time to seek compensation at Royal Ascot or even the French or Irish Oaks.

Sundrenched, the William Haggas-trained filly quietly fancied for the Oaks, misses the event in favour of the Ribblesdale or Irish equivalent.