Darley Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1)

FEATURE of the day on Thursday was the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, and all seven declared runners stood their ground despite the quickening conditions. When Snowfall (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) landed the Musidora Stakes here in May, she was allowed to start a 14/1 shot, and the reaction from many professionals myself included – was that she stole the race from the front, using her experience against fillies who were less professional.

What an error of judgment that has proven to be, with the daughter of Deep Impact carrying all before her in top company since.

With stablemate La Joconde and Hollie Doyle to take the field along at an honest pace, the race panned out ideally for Snowfall, and she was able to stroll clear of Albaflora (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) to record a four-length success at the cramped odds of 8/15.

La Joconde rallied to regain third from Wonderful Tonight, who was nowhere near her best on the good-to-firm turf, while the pair who fought out a mediocre Ribblesdale Stakes were predictably outclassed.

Facile win

This facile win takes Snowfall’s cumulative winning margin this season to a scarcely believable 32¼ lengths, and saw her harden in the betting for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, for which she is now a general 9/4 shot.

Discussing her current wellbeing, and the possibility of another run before the Arc, Aidan O’Brien said: “Snowfall quickens very well, and she’s gone really laid-back now. She’s starting to thrive and doing well physically, and her weight is going up, so you could see her doing well in the autumn. She’s by Deep Impact out of a Galileo mare so she was always going to get better. She always worked like a very good filly.

“It’s possible that she could take in another run because physically she’s doing well. Whether the lads want to go to Arc trials day or go straight to the Arc, we’ll see.”

Ralph Beckett was delighted with Albaflora despite her really wanting softer ground, and David Menuisier was philosophical about the performance of Wonderful Tonight, saying: “William’s report was that Wonderful Tonight on good ground is not the filly she is on soft. As I said to him before the race, if you feel that she doesn’t go on it, just look after her. The plan today was to give her a good blow, to go on to the next step with the Arc as the target.

Softer ground

“I’m really happy with the run, considering the conditions are not in her favour. I think there’s no harm done. Last year she ran in the Vermeille on good, good to firm ground and she ran the same sort of race as today. You know that when the ground gets softer, she can easily improve by another 10 lengths or more.

“I’m not disappointed because we came here thinking perhaps the ground is too quick, but we’ve got to give it a go because I wanted the filly to have two races before the Arc.”