Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1) 

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The second day of the York Ebor meeting, and fillies and mares take center stage in the £600,000 Yorkshire Oaks over 1m4f.

Kalpana in the Juddmonte silks heads the market. She is trained by Andrew Balding and will be ridden by Colin Keane; the team won the Juddmonte International here yesterday with Item. She has progressed with age, twice a winner of the Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot in 2024 and 2025. She added more G1 success this year, having failed to justify favouritism in the G2 Hardwicke Stakes, going down a shot head to Giavellotto; she put that right when beating Calandagan in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Aidan O’Brien is represented by Minnie Hauk with Ryan Moore in the plate. She had a wonderful season last year, winning the Oaks, Irish Oaks and this contest before being just touched off in the Arc. She made a pleasing return this year, winning the G2 Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh, running second in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes behind Ombudsman, then failed to fire at Ascot when well behind Kalpana in the King George, beaten 17¾L.

Joseph O’Brien sends Johanna Walsh the mount of Dylan Browne McGonagle. She announced herself in a Leopardstown Maiden beating Believed by 3¼L, who went on to win the G3 Give Thanks Stakes at Cork last week. After Leopardstown, Johanna Walsh went to Royal Ascot, running a cracker when going down a head to Willie Haggas’s Earth Shot, who’d proved herself a good horse, winning a Newmarket Maiden in May and then finding David Menuisier’s Inis Mor a head too good in the G3 Height Of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood. Inis Mor then went to Chantilly for the G1 Prix de Diane, running third to Diamond Necklace.

The three met at the Curragh for the Irish Oaks, where Johanna Walsh ran out a ready winner from Inis Mor. Willie Haggas will have been disappointed with Earth Shot’s performance at the Curragh, where she only managed sixth, having been the 9/4f market choice. David Menuisier will have been happy with his filly’s run.

Ralph Beckett’s Tattycoram has shown considerable improvement this year. She won a Novice last year at Sandown, her only win in seven attempts; this year she’s won at Listed level following up in the G2 Lancashire Oaks run at Newmarket, where she beat Tiffany 4½L with Caught You Sleeping a further 1¼L back in third. Tiffany subsequently franked the form when taking the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten. Caught You Sleeping ran third in the Give Thanks to Believed at Cork.

John & Thady Gosden’s Legacy Link will wear the green cap in the Juddmonte colours, partnered by William Buick. She won the G3 Musidora Stakes here in May, which sent her into the Oaks as the 3/1 second favourite; she filled market expectations finishing second to Thundering On. She was sent to the Royal Ascot for the Ribbledale, where the market sent her off as 13/8F. She finished seventh after being on the wrong end of interference a furlong out.

Jim Bolger sends Sparan Nua over from Ireland. She made her debut at Naas in May, winning over a mile; Cormac Quay, second to her, has since won her Maiden by 9½L. She followed up in a Fillies Race at Gowran, beating Vauntingly 4½L, who contests the 4.10 here today. Brought by Newtown Anner Stud, she followed up, justifying favouritism, in the G3 Munster Oaks Stakes at Cork. That set her up for a tilt at the Irish Oaks; she finished third, 4L behind Johanna Walsh and ¾L behind Inis Mor. She was dropped to a mile for the G3 Desmond Stakes at Leopardstown, where she went off 6/4F, she finished fourth, beaten 3L.

Ballydoyle have Sugar Island with Ronan Whelan in the saddle, accompanying Minnie Hauk. She has been employed as a pacemaker this season. She did it for Amelia Earhart at Chester. She did again in the Oaks for the same filly and also in the Irish Oaks. She stayed on to take third at Epsom on rain-softened ground; she faded quickly at the Curragh on good to firm. Her last juvenile run is worth noting: she won the G3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes at the Curragh in October on heavy ground, beating subsequent Oaks winner Thundering On, when making all, by 2¾L.

Conclusion

The ground is good to soft.

Kalpana has never run at York before; her three Group 1’s have all been won at Ascot; in 2024, it was soft for the first of them, so there’s a good chance she’ll handle the surface. The big concern with her is she’s had two hard races in a row and at even money, she’s unattractive.

Minnie Hawk won her Maiden on soft and nearly won the Arc on very soft. Sugar Island will lead, and if given a soft lead, Ronan Whelan knows how to preserve energy, as he did on Christmas Day in the Derby. If it continues to rain, 200/1 might look silly. She’s unlikely to win it, but she can hang on for a place if the ground gets towards heavy.

Legacy Link was good here in the Musidora, and at Epsom, the Ribblesdale came too quickly thereafter, and she’s a chance of making the frame.

Sparan Nua is Irish for New Life, and she can give her trainer exactly that. She won well at Gowran on yielding ground. In the Irish Oaks she came from last 2f out, having to peel around the field to get up to finish third. Her last run over a mile was also encouraging, to further sharpen her up. She’s the each-way play.

Recommendation

Sparan Nua 28/1 ew

If it continues to rain,

Sugar Island 200/1 ew

Sparan Nua, Legacy Link, Sugar Island (combination trifecta)

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