Yorkshire Oaks

York’s Ebor meeting, held last week, is one of the highlights of my flat racing season. As an unreconstructed professional Yorkshireman, I have a predictable affinity with this sublime, stylish and mature track that some refer to as the Ascot of the north (if comparisons must be made then surely it is that Ascot is the York of the south?) (And Guildford is the Wakefield of Surrey….). This year’s Yorkshire Oaks was a classic encounter of the nation’s top middle distance fillies. A favourite of mine, last year’s dual Oaks winner, Sariska was lining up against old foe and globe-trotting multi-grade 1 winner Midday, as well as the star of this season’s classic filly crop Snow Fairy. Sariska was the star filly last year. Beautiful, graceful…..profitable. She probably counts as one of my few genuine and unmitigated successes on the flat. She came to my attention during a listed event at Newbury where she broke poorly, slowly and late, but made up acres of ground to finish like a ...