She beat only three rivals, but Minnie Hauk landed her third straight Group 1 victory when she ran out an easy winner of the Yorkshire Oaks on Thursday at York Racecourse in England.
The odds-on favorite, Minnie Hauk sat third under Ryan Moore in the early stages of this 1 1/2-mile contest, cruising to the lead and comfortably holding sway over Estrange, on paper the only filly with a chance to beat Minnie Hauk.
Unlike the Oaks at Epsom and the Irish Oaks, Minnie Hauk’s last two wins, the Yorkshire Oaks is open to older horses, and 3-year-old Minnie Hauk got nine pounds from 4-year-old Estrange.
Estrange, a winner only as high as the Group 2 level, had been talked about as a serious candidate for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but while she might go better on the softer footing often found at Longchamp in October, she stood little chance giving weight to a high-class rival on good-to-firm going. Minnie Hauk won by 3 1/2 lengths and never looked like she would lose.
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Garden of Eden, like Minnie Hauk trained by Aidan O’Brien, finished third, 3 1/2 lengths behind Estrange.
British bookmakers pushed Minnie Hauk, by Frankel out of Multilingual, by Dansili, down to 8-1 co-favoritism for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. But Minnie Hauk would have to be supplemented into the Arc, and O’Brien, who won his ninth Yorkshire Oaks, said he wouldn’t relish the idea of running the filly on softer ground.
The Yorkshire Oaks, however, is a part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series. Minnie Hauk earned automatic fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, though her connections also could use the Challenge Series win to get Minnie Hauk into the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
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