RIBBLESDALE STAKES

(Group 2)

IT took John Gosden a while to make his mark at the meeting but he enjoyed a highly successful Ribblesdale Stakes when 9/1 chance Coronet, another winner for Dubawi, got up close home to deny Frankel’s daughter Mori, 2/1 favourite, by a neck, with Gosden’s other filly, Hertford Dancer, a length away in third.

In a fascinating contest, 20/1 chance The Sky Is Blazing led and went clear at one stage, keeping up the gallop until two furlongs from home. Hertford Dancer challenged at that point and went on, opening up what looked a winning lead of two lengths, only for Mori to master her close home.

She looked sure to add to her illustrious sire’s laurels but Coronet, denied a clear run as they hit the furlong marker, was switched left by Olivier Peslier and went right through with her effort to prevail.

The Oaks form was represented not only by this week’s winner, who failed to handle Epsom and finished fifth, but also by third-placed Alluringly. The Ballydoyle filly weakened inside the final furlong here after briefly looking dangerous.

Coronet has stamina to spare and this helped in an all-out battle to the line. She is related to former St Leger runner-up Midas Touch and one or two firms, perhaps taking rather a lot for granted, promptly made her a 10/1 shot for the oldest classic.

“Well, she’ll stay a further than a mile and a half and the owner is up for it but we’ll talk it over,” Gosden said. “I’ll put her in both the Park Hill Stakes and the St Leger. We’ve got some very nice fillies. The Oaks winner Enable will go for the Irish Oaks, then the Yorkshire one.”

Khalid Abdullah’s Mori is regally bred, being by Frankel out of his brilliant mare Midday.

As Sir Michael Stoute pointed out, she is still relatively inexperienced and there will be a big winning day for her, even if a mile and a half is probably as far as she wants to go.