Yorkshire Oaks: Minnie Hauk scores, earns Breeders’ Cup bid
Already a winner in three other Oaks, Aidan O’Brien-trained Minnie Hauk extended her winning streak to five races Thursday when she carried Ryan Moore and her odds-on backing to victory in the Group 1, US$807,402 Yorkshire Oaks.
The roughly 1 1/2-mile turf race drew only four fillies and mares, ages 3 and up, to compete for the US$457,392 first prize at York Racecourse in England. Minnie Hauk’s win came with an automatic berth in the US$2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf going 1 3/8 miles Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
“She obviously could go to an Arc,” winning trainer Aidan O’Brien said, referencing the 1 1/2-mile Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) in Paris on Oct. 5. “She could go to a Breeders’ Cup Turf. All those things are open. Obviously, the Arc has to be very much on her agenda at the moment, depending on what’s going to happen when they go back (home to Ireland) and how they come out of the race. A mile-and-a-half doesn’t worry her, and we know the ease in the ground doesn’t worry her, and better ground doesn’t worry her either.”
Owned by Coolmore, Minnie Hauk (1-4) settled in third behind stablemate and pacemaker Garden of Eden (8-1) with recent France Group 2 winner Qilin Queen (14-1) a distant second. That order did not change until the final quarter mile. Minnie Hauk and 4-year-old Lancashire Oaks (G2) winner Estrange (5-2) accelerated down the middle of the course with Minnie Hauk much the best in a 3 1/2-length win.
Minnie Hauk paid $2.50 to win in the World Pool dividends. Estrange finished second, Garden of Eden third and Qilin Queen fourth. There was no each-way place betting because of the small field.
The winning time was 2:26.67 without a run-up on the left-handed course, which was rated good to firm. The exact distance was 32 yards less than 1 1/2 miles.
A US$2.4 million Goffs yearling purchase out of Dansili mare Multilingual, Minnie Hauk lost her debut in October going a mile on a yielding course at Cork, Ireland. She broke her maiden 18 days later racing a mile on soft ground at Leopardstown. After a 6 1/2-month break, Minnie Hauk won the 1 7/16-mile Cheshire Oaks, the 1 1/2-mile Epsom Oaks (G1) and last month in the 1 1/2-mile Irish Oaks (G1), all on good or good-to-soft courses.
Coolmore won the Yorkshire Oaks for a record-extending ninth time. O’Brien had his ninth score in the race, tying a record jointly held by Sir Michael Stoute and 19th-century trainer Mathew Dawson. It was Moore’s fifth Yorkshire Oaks victory.