Yorkshire Oaks | Horse Racing Free Tips

Snowfall Dominates Yorkshire Oaks En Route To Arc De Triomphe

Aidan O'Brien looks to have racing's next superstar in his ranks – as Snowfall made light work of Thursday's Group 1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks. The daughter of Deep Impact will receive an automatic berth into the US$2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

Having demolished her rivals in both the Cazoo Oaks and the Irish Oaks, O'Brien's filly was sent out a heavy favorite for Darley Yorkshire Oaks. And she certainly did not disappoint.

Ryan Moore kept Snowfall at the back, ridden quietly throughout the race. Stable companion La Joconde ensuring there was a good gallop throughout the race under Hollie Doyle. Turning the corner the runners came back to stands, and push came to shove on La Joconde, with Wonderful Tonight beginning to make her move.

Gasps from the York crowd rang out, as Snowfall, with consummate ease breezed her way through the field. In a matter of moments she was upside and past Wonderful Tonight – seemingly in third gear.

Ryan Moore then nudged her to press on and put the race to bed before easing her way to the line with all the dangers long behind her.

It was a special performance from a filly who looks set to go on to big things.

After the race Aidan O'Brien was in buoyant mood as he spoke about the next stage in the filly's career, he said: “She's gone very laid-back, putting on weight and starting to thrive. She's ready for the autumn. She could have another race before the Arc, if the lads want to do that.”

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Three-For-Three In 2021, Snowfall Goes For Breeders’ Cup Berth In Thursday’s Yorkshire Oaks

Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor's dual Group 1-winning filly Snowfall (JPN) is set to take on six rivals at York in the 1 ½-mile Darley Yorkshire Oaks (G1) on Thursday. The Darley Yorkshire Oaks winner will receive an automatic berth into the US$2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 84 stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 5-6.

Snowfall, a 3-year-old daughter of Deep Impact (JPN) out of the Galileo (IRE) mare Best In The World (IRE), is three for three this season. The Aidan O'Brien-trained filly returns to York where she began her 2021 campaign with a win in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes (G3), before cruising to a record-breaking 16-length victory in the Cazoo Oaks (G1) at Epsom in June. Snowfall followed up on that success with another wide-margin victory in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks (G1) at The Curragh on July 17. She is joined by stablemates Divinely (IRE), last seen finishing fourth in the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes (G2), and La Joconde (IRE), the outsider of the field.

Trained by David Menuisier and ridden by William Buick, Wonderful Tonight (FR) steps up to Group 1 competition for the first time this season. The 4-year-old daughter of Le Havre (IRE) won the Qatar Prix de Royallieu (G1) at ParisLongchamp and QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (G1) last October. This year, Wonderful Tonight captured the Hardwicke Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot in June before winning the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes (G2) at Goodwood on July 31.

Menuisier had alternative options in France for his star filly but has decided to head to York.

He said: “Obviously I'm hoping there's a bit more rain, but if the ground is good we'll give it a go.

“I've been in Deauville for four or five days and I've found that the ground is pretty chopped up. The weather forecast is not that positive for downpours and I'm sure the ground will be better in York than it is in Deauville.”

Connections of Albaflora (GB) will be hoping their 4-year-old filly can improve against Wonderful Tonight. Owned and bred by Miss Kirsten Rausing, Albaflora finished fifth in the Hardwicke Stakes and third in the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes. It would be a first win in this race for trainer Ralph Beckett and jockey Rossa Ryan, if successful.

John Gosden has won this race five times. Now training in partnership with his son Thady, the duo saddle Loving Dream (GB), with jockey Frankie Dettori set to ride. The 3-year-old daughter of Gleneagles (IRE) was last seen when winning the Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot on June 17.

Finishing three-quarters of a length behind Loving Dream that day at Ascot was Shadwell Estate Company's Eshaada (GB). The lightly raced Group 2 placed 3-year-old filly, trained by Roger Varian and ridden by Jim Crowley, completes the field.

As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the Darley Yorkshire Oaks winner to start in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which will be run at 1 3/8 Miles on the Del Mar turf course. Breeders' Cup will also provide a travel allowance of US$40,000 for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 25 to receive the rewards.

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Love Conquers All In Yorkshire Oaks, Sets Up Clash With Enable In Arc De Triomphe

Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor's brilliant filly Love (IRE) crushed her opposition in another outstanding performance to win the Darley Yorkshire Oaks (G1) on Thursday. The victory secures her a guaranteed start in the US$2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 6-7.

Love becomes the third horse to gain a “Win and You're In” berth into the Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf this year, joining Queen Supreme (IRE), who won the Cartier Paddock Stakes (G1) at Kenilworth in South Africa on Jan. 11 and Almond Eye (JPN) winner of the Victoria Mile (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan on May 17.

Dual Classic heroine Love was making her first start since her jaw-dropping 9-length Investec Oaks (G1) win at Epsom Downs in July. Although the winning distance today was only 5 lengths, the race was over as a contest at the furlong marker, and her jockey Ryan Moore eased her home.

The 33/1 outsider Alpinista (GB) stayed on and eventually edged out One Voice (IRE) for the runner-up spot as the John Gosden-trained duo Franconia (GB) and Frankly Darling (GB) never figured.

It was a fifth Darley Yorkshire Oaks win for trainer Aidan O'Brien, who was thrilled with his filly's performance. He said: “I'm delighted. I really couldn't be happier. Everything went perfect and she won very nicely. She was very good last year and being a Galileo (IRE) filly we hoped she'd improve at three and she has done.”

O'Brien has trained some brilliant fillies over the years, including Alexandrova (IRE), Peeping Fawn and Minding (IRE), but believes Love might top that list.

O'Brien said: “I don't think we might have ever had a better filly than her. When you're that close to them, you don't want to be dreaming, but I think she's been extra special all the way through.”

The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) and then possibly the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is on the agenda for Love. O'Brien said: “If she gets back home well then the Arc would be the plan. If she runs again after the Arc, then it would be the Breeders' Cup.”

It was a second Darley Yorkshire Oaks for Moore who after the race was glowing in his praise for the 3-year-old filly, saying: “She's very special. She's been exceptional this year and has absolutely thrived. She's just got stronger and stronger and has done it very easily today.”

Moore has enjoyed plenty of success over the years at the Breeders' Cup, riding nine winners so far including on Dank (GB) in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. He continued: “Realistically it was her easiest task for a while. She was running against some unexposed fillies but they had to step up to run to her level. She's a very straightforward filly and it was business as usual.”

Love, a chestnut daughter of Galileo out of the Pivotal (GB) mare Pikaboo (GB), completed the 1 1/2 miles in 2:31.31 over a course listed as good. Bookmakers SkyBet make Love 5/1, from 6/1, for the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

As a part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for Love to start in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which will be run at 1 3/16 miles over the Keeneland turf course. Breeders' Cup also will provide a travel allowance of $40,000 for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program or it must be nominated by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 26 to receive the rewards.

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Love Looms Large In Yorkshire Oaks

Day two of York’s Ebor festival means the G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks and few would bet against Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) prevailing in Thursday’s feature following her emphatic successes in the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Epsom Oaks. With Enable going elsewhere to avoid handing Ballydoyle’s femme fatale weight-for-age, the chestnut who took the June 7 Newmarket and July 4 Epsom Classics by a cumulative margin of 13 1/2 lengths surely only needs a reproduction of the latter effort to see off four of her peers and one 4-year-old. With plenty of rain around in Yorkshire, there could be a question mark about her sheen of invincibility as on two occasions at two she was found out by easy ground. This will be a measurement of how much she actually has in hand on the rest of the distaff brigade.

“I suppose we were a bit unsure going into the Guineas, because we’d always viewed her as a middle-distance filly,” Aidan O’Brien commented. “We were obviously delighted with what she did at Newmarket and it all went well between then and the Oaks. Obviously, what she then went and did in the Oaks we were delighted with, and everything she has done between then and now has pleased us. Hopefully this is the start of her preparation for the start of the autumn. We’re looking forward to seeing her run.”

As much rain as possible is the key for Waverley Racing’s Manuela de Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who put the subsequent G2 Hardwicke S. winner Fanny Logan (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) to the sword in the G3 Pinnacle S. over an extended 11 furlongs at Haydock on June 7 before following up with a bloodless win in the G2 Lancashire Oaks back there on July 5. John Gosden saddles Anthony Oppenheimer’s June 16 G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Frankly Darling (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who looked unhappy on Epsom’s contours when a non-threatening third in the Oaks and will be much more at home on this terrain, and Juddmonte’s Franconia (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

Franconia beat the classy trio of Cabaletta (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Chamade (GB) (Sepoy {Aus}) and Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) in the 10-furlong Listed Abingdon Fillies’ S. at Newbury on June 13 before taking the Listed Lyric Fillies’ S. over the Juddmonte International trip here on July 26. “She hasn’t done much wrong in her couple of starts this year and she’s obviously won at the track, which is definitely a plus,” rider James Doyle said. “There’s plenty of upside to her. Obviously it’s going to be a tough race, with Love in there–she’s going to be a ridiculously short price, but quite rightly so I guess. Hopefully we go there with a nice chance.”

Craig Bernick’s One Voice (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}) tries a mile and a half for the first time after winning the G3 Blue Wind S. at Leopardstown on June 21 and giving Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) a scare when a neck second in Goodwood’s G1 Nassau S. on July 30. In between, she was a luckless fifth in The Curragh’s nine-furlong G2 Kilboy Estate S. on July 19 and she has yet to convince that she is crying out for this trip on ground which will be the slowest she has raced on.

“We were delighted with One Voice’s run in the Nassau and she came out of the race really well,” trainer Jessie Harrington said. “Fancy Blue had beaten my filly [Alpine Star] in the Prix de Diane and so we kind of had a bit of a line and we felt our filly would improve again for going up in trip, which she did. The time before, at The Curragh, it was one of those stupid things. She got into a pocket and couldn’t get out, so we put a line through that. She didn’t have a hard race and that’s why we went from there to Goodwood. She’s a filly that has improved all year and her pedigree suggests she should be even better over a mile and a half. I know it’s a big ask with Love in there, but you have to try.”

Opening the card is the G2 Sky Bet Lowther S. for the juvenile fillies over six furlongs, in which Cheveley Park Stud’s Sacred (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) is likely to start favourite having been laid out by William Haggas following her second to Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in the five-furlong G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot on June 20. David Loughnane relies on Santosha (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire}), who followed her third in Newmarket’s G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. on July 10 with a gutsy win in Ascot’s G3 Princess Margaret S. on July 26. She is re-opposed by Hala Hala Hala (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), who has 3/4 of a length to make up having finished runner-up there. One of the more interesting unexposed types is Saeed bin Mohammed Al Qassimi’s July 29 Thirsk maiden winner Umm Kulthum (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) from the Richard Fahey stable which is one of the local yards to prioritise this meeting. While she needs to improve on the bare form of that five-furlong debut, she gave the impression she has talent to make an impact at black-type level.

Two-year-olds also get a chance to shine in the £180,000 Goffs UK Premier Yearling S. over six furlongs and it will be a surprise if Russell Jones’s Devious Company (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) cannot make his class tell having finished closest to two of the best of his generation seen so far. Having chased home Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Newmarket’s G2 Superlative S. on July 11, he was also runner-up to Battleground (War Front) in the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood on July 28. His main opposition appears to be the filly Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), who has already won one of these sales races having taken Newbury’s five-furlong Weatherbys Super Sprint S. on July 19, and the June 14 Doncaster maiden scorer Uncle Jumbo (GB) (Territories {Ire}). The aforementioned Lyric S. runner-up Gold Wand is one of the main protagonists for the Listed British EBF & Sir Henry Cecil Galtres S. over the Yorkshire Oaks trip.

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