Europe
Never in doubt for Minne Hauk
Having won the Oaks and Irish Oaks, Minnie Hauk (Frankel) completed the heralded treble on Thursday in the G1 Yorkshire Oaks with the minimum of fuss. Held up behind as Wayne Lordan set the tempo on the Ribblesdale winner Garden Of Eden (Saxon Warrior), the 8-15 favourite moved up to take control two out and draw away from her main rival Estrange (Night Of Thunder) for a resounding 3 1/2-length success.
“She's very straightforward and professional and does everything very smooth,” Ryan Moore said of the winner, who also won the Listed Cheshire Oaks in May and was rounding off a rare set of races with that title.
“She put the race to bed when I asked her, and the last furlong was easy. She does what you ask her to do, and with the higher tempo and nice track and ground today she was able to show more, but she's always been very good.”
“She (Minnie Hauk) does what you ask her to do, and with the higher tempo and nice track and ground today she was able to show more.” - Ryan Moore
Aidan O'Brien, who was registering a record-equalling ninth Yorkshire Oaks success, has the Arc in mind for the winner, who he believes was compromised by the way the race panned out. “Wayne set lovely fractions (on Garden Of Eden), but Ryan couldn't follow as close as he would have liked as the other filly (Qilin Queen) got between them, and we feel there is probably more to come still when the pace is strong and even,” he explained. “She doesn't kill herself getting there, but she's always finishing.”
“She's made like a miler, not like a typical middle-distance filly but gets this trip well and is a very good mover so we always thought that fast ground would suit her,” the master of Ballydoyle added of the winner, who now has a guaranteed berth in the $2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
“She has to be close to the top of our pecking order for the Arc and we know ease in the ground doesn't matter. When these fillies are improving at this time of year, you never know what will happen. Ryan just said the Breeders' Cup Turf, so she's obviously given him an unbelievable feel.”
Michael Tabor added, “I think she won very comfortably, she's obviously very good and looking forward maybe she will run in the Arc or the Breeders' Cup. Hopefully we can keep her in training as a 4-year-old and enjoy her. Yesterday was not a disaster, but it was tough. It's tough when you lose, which is why you have to appreciate when you win because it is not easy.”
Estrange's rider Danny Tudhope said, “It went as we thought, she travelled lovely and settled well and I thought I had half a chance when I loomed to Ryan, but Minnie Hauk just went away from me quite easily and probably outstayed me. This ground was fine for her, maybe she could come back in trip again.”
Pedigree Notes: Minnie Hauk, who was the €1.85 million (AUS $3.4 million) 2023 Goffs Orby Book 1 topper, is out of Multilingual (Dansili) who is a daughter of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Zenda (Zamindar) and therefore a half to the brilliant Kingman. Also a full-sister to as well as the G3 Tercentenary Stakes winner Remote and Frankel's G3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes-placed First Eleven, she also boasts the G2 Summer Mile and G3 Thoroughbred Stakes winner and Prix d'Ispahan runner-up Tilsit (First Defence).
Bought by the Sangsters for $525,000 (AUS $818,000) at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, Multilingual is also a half to the dams of Group-placed Macduff (Sea The Stars), Ricetta (Camelot), Fajjaj (Dawn Approach) and Repartee by Kingman's sire Invincible Spirit. Also connected to Oasis Dream and Beat Hollow et al, Multilingual's 2-year-old filly Voice Coach is by No Nay Never, while she was bred to Justify last year and this year.
Royal Fixation wins The Lowther for Palace Pier
Palace Pier has got off to a highly encouraging start at stud, and his daughter Royal Fixation took it to the next level on Thursday when winning York's G2 Lowther Stakes. Runner-up in the G2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket's July Festival, Opulence Thoroughbreds' 5-2 joint-favourite had to come from off the pace under William Buick to get the other joint market-leader America Queen (Havana Grey) but was in command from the furlong pole en route to a length success.
“She's very straightforward and did well in the circumstances at Newmarket, where we thought she could have won had we ridden her closer,” Buick said of the Ed Walker-trained winner. “My filly always had more to give and was green in front, if anything. I think she's a good filly and is probably improving all the time.”
Walker added, “We've always thought a lot of her and she ran a huge race at Newmarket. It's been a really long six weeks since then, we've let her down and had to build her back up and then you start wondering if you've got it right, or is she too fresh. She's so good, what is exciting is that she still looked a bit green off the bridle, when he first asked her, she just wandered around a bit.”
“She's (Royal Fixation) so good, what is exciting is that she still looked a bit green off the bridle, when he first asked her, she just wandered around a bit.” - Ed Walker
“She'll get further, for sure, but she won't go to the Fillies' Mile, I think we'll go to the Cheveley Park,” he added. “She's quick, she's got loads of speed, she's got a very fast female line, and I think she'd be too keen over a mile at the moment.”
Richard Hughes said of America Queen, “She can only improve. Ryan (Moore) just had to commit probably 50 yards earlier than he would have liked, and you're there to be shot at on an inexperienced horse, but she's run a blinder, and we can't ask for more. The winner is a good filly, and they opened up on the field, which is good. I'm gutted, but pleased.”
Pedigree Notes: Royal Fixation's G3 Prix du Bois and G3 Prix de Cabourg-placed dam Fixette (Kodiac), whose yearling filly by Havana Grey is due to sell at the upcoming Tattersalls October Book 2, is also responsible for the Listed Prix la Fleche winner The Fixer (No Nay Never). Her Moyglare Stud family includes Montjeu's G1 Sydney Cup and G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Gallante and the G3 Silbernes Pferd and Listed Salsabil Stakes winner Silence Please (Gleneagles).
She descends from the Matron and Spinaway-winning champion Talking Picture (Speak John), which links her to the top-class mother and daughter Trusted Partner (Affirmed) and Dress To Thrill (Danehill), as well as Galileo's Kyprios and Search For A Song, and High Chaparral's Free Eagle who all made their mark at the highest level. Interestingly, the dynasty also features last year's Queen Mary heroine Leovanni (Kodi Bear), who was third in this race.
