Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1)

JUST four runners contested the feature race on day two at the York Ebor Festival, but it turned into a great race to watch, with Minnie Hauk (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) producing a fantastic performance to win the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks.

The daughter of Frankel, sent off at 8/15 favourite, added her name to an elite list of fillies that have completed the ‘Oaks treble’ of Epsom, Irish, and Yorkshire, a group of horses that includes Enable, Snowfall and Alexandrova.

Visually, the Juddmonte International on Wednesday may have been a messy affair, but Thursday’s Yorkshire Oaks was far from that, as the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner Garden Of Eden (Aidan O’Brien/Wayne Lordan) took the small field along at a good pace.

Garden Of Eden was a strong contender in her own right, but she seemed to play her role as the pacesetter perfectly, allowing Qilin Queen, Minnie Hauk, and Estrange (David O’Meara/Daniel Tudhope), in that order, to sit in a nice rhythm.

With three furlongs left to go, Ryan Moore had two things left to work out. When to navigate past Qilin Queen, and how to see off the strongly-travelling Estrange.

The first manoeuvre was successfully delivered just after the three-furlong pole, but as the race developed, it was clear to see Danny Tudhope looming up on the Cheveley Park-owned filly.

Extra gear

However, Minnie Hauk dealt with the threat without too much hassle. The dual classic winner found an extra gear with two furlongs to go, leaving Estrange behind to finish second, and Garden Of Eden came home in third.

In what is an envious position to be in, O’Brien and the Coolmore team now have a few decisions to make. With both Whirl and Minnie Hauk in the yard, as well as the older colts, Los Angeles and Jan Brueghel, what will their Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe team look like?

Speaking to Lydia Hislop on Racing TV, O’Brien said: “We think there is plenty to come from her still - she’s not made like a typical mile and a half filly, she’s built like a round and strong miler.

“Whirl is an amazing filly, too. Minnie Hauk is a very good mover, and we always thought that fast ground would suit this filly even though she had never run on it, really.

France or America

“She could go to an Arc, or she could go to a Breeders’ Cup Turf. All those things are open, but obviously, the Arc has to be very much on her agenda at the moment.

“Whirl could go with her. Her next options are the Prix Vermeille or the Irish Champion Stakes - there is a good chance that Delacroix will go back to the Irish Champion Stakes.”

Following the Yorkshire Oaks, Minnie Hauk and Whirl are 8/1 for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, with Estrange now as big as 33/1 in places.

HER Majesty The Queen was in the house at York on Thursday, and the day’s action got off to a royal start thanks to Royal Fixation in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes.

From the minute she crossed the line in the Group 2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes in July, trainer Ed Walker labelled the Lowther Stakes as her big target and, to the eye, there was no need for her connections to worry, even if she drifted in the market to a backable 5/2 joint favourite starting price.

Much like her Newmarket performance, she sat off the pace under a calm William Buick, with America Queen (Richard Hughes/Ryan Moore) and Staya (George Scott/Callum Sheperd), her main market rivals, positioned relatively close to her.

As Walker admitted to Tom Stanley on Racing TV post-race, when Buick asked the daughter of Palace Pier to quicken for the first time, she did “wobble” slightly, but this was the only real chink in her armour.

Strong finish

From there, Buick guided her down the outside, and everything Royal Fixation did in the final furlong was impressive. She ran bullet straight, she eased past the eventual second, America Queen, and she powered through the line.

Despite looking like she would stay further in time, Walker is in no rush to step her up in trip, as the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes on the Newmarket Rowley Mile course is her next likely target.

He told Racing TV: “I haven’t spoken to Will yet, but the most exciting thing to me is that she still looks a little bit green, and I think there is probably more to come.

“The Cheveley Park is the obvious race. She looks like she’d get further, but the Cheveley Park, probably on easier ground if it ever rains, would be ideal.”

Pre-race, the money came for America Queen, the runner-up, and she ran a very credible race under Ryan Moore.

In the immediate aftermath, trainer Richard Hughes told Lydia Hislop that she could also head to the Cheveley Park, which would set up a fascinating rematch against Royal Fixation.

However, much like Walker, Hughes thinks his filly will get further, which could bring something like the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes over seven furlongs into the equation.

Clive Cox scored another win in the valuable Harry’s Half Million By Goffs Stakes, worth £338,821 to the winner, with the Rossa Ryan-ridden Song Of The Clyde (15/2) who led over a furlong out and, when challenged inside the final furlong, kept on well to win by three-quarters of a length. He had gone through the ring at Goffs Premier Yearlings this time last year for €85,000.

WILLIAM Haggas is ready to run his Clipper Handicap winner Bullet Point once more at the York Ebor Festival this week in the Group 3 Strensall Stakes on Saturday.

The four-year-old by Advertise was sent off a well-backed 15/8 for Thursday’s feature handicap contest over one mile, and he comfortably obliged under Tom Marquand, seeing off Cerulean Bay (David O’Meara/Oisin Murphy) and Remmooz (Owen Burrows/Kevin Stott).

Haggas isn’t known for sending out horses quickly after a big run, but it seems like the Sommerville Lodge team has drawn up a long-term plan for this fast-improving gelding.

All being well on Saturday morning, Bullet Point will run in the Strensall Stakes, a race he is 6/1 for in places, before going into quarantine on September 28th in preparation for a valuable race in Australia.

That race ‘down under’ is the Five Diamonds, a nine-furlong five-year-old-only contest at Rosehill Racecourse on November 8th worth AU$2,000,000.

Bullet Point has never gone further than a mile and a half in his career, but if he is to run on the Knavesmire again on Saturday, he will give some useful information to connections about his ability to stay nine furlongs.

However, based on all four of his handicap runs this season, it would come as a surprise if he finds this task too testing.

The Listed British EBF & Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes gave another win in a fantastic week for sire Night Of Thunder when his daughter Charlotte’s Web (11/4 joint favourite) provided Simon and Ed Crisford with another winner under Danny Tudhope, always doing enough to hold off Crepe Suzette.

Oisin Murphy and Andrew Balding enjoyed another success in the Mews Hotel Ossett EBF Stallions Nursery Handicap with Stellar Sunrise (100/30 favourite) for the Royal Ascot Racing Club.

Those following the Royal theme were rewarded with a nine first and last race double when Royal Velvet (12/1) landed the seven-furlong British EBF Fillies’ Handicap (Heritage Handicap) for the Williams, Knight and Buick, another Royal reference.