A red-hot Yorkshire Oaks: assessing the key contenders for next week’s Group 1 contest

A top-class group of fillies and mares could do battle in next week’s Yorkshire Oaks, the feature race on day two of the York Ebor Festival. Below, we delve into an intriguing contest . . . 

Bluestocking

Form: 22-112

Strengths: It’s clear to see that the Ralph Beckett-trained Bluestocking sets the standard here. Starting with last season, she has multiple pieces of form with Warm Heart, one of the flag bearers for the mares division in 2023. The Juddmonte-owned four-year-old nearly beat the three-time Group 1 winner on her seasonal debut at Newbury before losing to her twice more and then finishing ahead of her in the Irish Oaks. That’s very good form, and she has continued in that vein this year with a facile success in the Middleton Stakes before winning the Pretty Polly at the Curragh. Her last run when second to Goliath in last month’s King George was also very solid.

Bluestocking: downed Emily Upjohn in June's Pretty Polly at the CurraghCredit: Patrick McCann

Weaknesses: It’s hard to throw many stones at Bluestocking, but she has yet to win on ground quicker than good. When she won on good ground earlier this season in the Middleton Stakes, it was the first run of the season for many and the form hasn’t worked out too well as both Free Wind (second) and Sapphire Seas (fourth) have lost subsequently. Her effectiveness over a mile and a half is also worth questioning as she is winless in five attempts at the trip. Furthermore, although she finished a close second in the Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions Day last season over just shy of a mile and a half, she had a while to pass Poptronic but could not match her.

Odds: 6-4

Content

Form: 4-8832

Strengths: The improving Content represents last year’s winning trainer Aidan O’Brien, and she has a similar profile to her former stablemate Warm Heart. Like her, she was an eyecatching loser in the Irish Oaks, although Content’s performance warrants more analysis. The Galileo three-year-old sat in midfield on her first start at a mile and a half in order to have the best chance of staying the trip, but when she went to make a move, her passage to the front was blocked. She was eventually granted room to race with a furlong and a half to go, but the eventual winner, You Got To Me, had first run on her. She arguably could have reversed the form with a clear run, which makes her a big player here.

Content: an unlucky loser in the Irish Oaks Credit: CAROLINE NORRIS

Weaknesses: Content has shown she can come off the pace and fly home late, but her dam’s side is all speed – she is out of the 2016 Nunthorpe winner Mecca’s Angel – and there remains a worry about whether she will truly stay a well-contested race over a mile and a half.

Odds: 5-1

Queen Of The Pride

Form: 81-211

Strengths: Queen Of The Pride is improving, as shown by her three-length success in last month’s Lancashire Oaks. She also has a wonderful pedigree as she is by Roaring Lion out of the 2015 St Leger winner Simple Verse. She took a bit of encouragement to get herself into the race on her last start, but she hit the line hard once galvanised by Oisin Murphy. John and Thady Gosden have given the four-year-old a nice rest since that run, so she should be fresh for this York assignment.

Queen Of The Pride: improving for John and Thady GosdenCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Weaknesses: The Lancashire Oaks that she won wasn’t a vintage renewal and Lady Boba, who finished third, finished ninth of nine in the Nassau Stakes on her next start. This is Queen Of The Pride's first test in Group 1 company and is also her first outing at York, so she’ll have to prove she can deal with a new set of conditions.

Odds: 11-2

You Got To Me

Form: 5-1441

Strengths: You Got To Me and races with ‘Oaks’ in the title have gone hand-in-hand this season. She began the year with a success in the Lingfield Oaks Trial before finishing fourth in the Epsom Oaks and then winning the Irish Oaks two starts later. For the Yorkshire Oaks, she will receive the three-year-old weight allowance and thus receive 9lb from her elders. Horses from the Classic generation have a great record in the race as eight of the last 10 winners were three-year-olds.

You Got To Me: looking to back up from Irish Oaks victoryCredit: Patrick McCann

Weaknesses: Looking back at the Lingfield Oaks Trial, she was given a substantial lead before just lasting home from a fast-finishing Rubies Are Red. In the Irish Oaks, the runner-up Content had a luckless run through yet she still got to within three quarters of a length of You Got To Me. Things fell her way to win those two races and there’s no guarantee she will get the same luck next week.

Odds: 8-1

Emily Upjohn

Form: 7-5426

Strengths: Six races have been and gone since Emily Upjohn last won, but there’s no denying her ability as a proven Group 1 horse. She’s also shown she can do it against the boys as she won the 2023 Coronation Cup before chasing home Paddington in the Eclipse a month later. Excuses can be made for her seasonal reappearance as John Gosden admitted she would come on for the run, and her second to Bluestocking in the Pretty Polly was a very good performance. Having beaten the likes of Westover and Nashwa in her career, she could be the class angle if returning to form.

Emily Upjohn: last win came in the 2023 Coronation CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Weaknesses: A return to form is required as she didn’t show her true colours in the Nassau earlier this month. She is five now, so there is always the worry a mare of her age could be getting too cute for racing. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that she will run having been in action just 21 days ago at Glorious Goodwood. After her second in last year's Eclipse, she had a 21-day rest before she disappointed in the King George, although there are a lack of options for her.

Odds: 8-1

Kalpana

Form: 121231

Strengths: Much like Content and You Got To Me, Kalpana is an improving three-year-old who gets weight from the older competitors in the field. The Juddmonte-owned filly by Study Of Man comes into York on the back of a facile victory in the Glasgow Stakes in July, justifying odds of 5-6 under a hands-and-heels PJ McDonald ride. Before that, she finished an eyecatching third in the Ribblesdale Stakes, a place ahead of You Got To Me, where she was short of room up the rail and had to be switched out by Oisin Murphy. Once she got some daylight, she powered home, but it was too little too late. Having given Friendly Soul, a subsequent Group 3 winner, a good race in the Pretty Polly at Newmarket in April, her form is beginning to stack up nicely.

Kalpana: easy winner at Hamilton last monthCredit: John Grossick

Weaknesses: Kalpana made her debut in January and has since raced five times. That’s a lot of racing for a three-year-old to undertake without a notable break, although she hasn’t shown any signs of fatigue yet. Juddmonte also have three horses entered, so the owners could end up saving one of them for another day.

Odds: 16-1

How about the rest?

That other Juddmonte-entered contender is Time Lock, who has been highly-tried this season by Harry Charlton, notably when supplemented for the Coronation Cup on Oaks Day. The other Ballydoyle entries are Opera Singer, an unlikely runner, and Jackie Oh. The latter had her seasonal reappearance at the Curragh last month and will come on for the race. Sumiha looked smart when winning the Munster Oaks on her latest start for Dermot Weld and could have something to say.

Verdict

This is a tough race and a case can be made for plenty in the field. Preference goes to Kalpana, who is still unexposed and gets a valuable 9lb from her elders. Emily Upjohn should be feared as a return to form would see her go close, while Bluestocking has an obvious chance at the top of the market.

Kalpana15:35 York

View Racecard

Jky: Tnr: Andrew Balding

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