Minnie Hauk Picks Up Third Group 1 With Yorkshire Oaks

Minnie Hauk (IRE) stormed to victory to land the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) and provide Aidan O'Brien with his fifth triumph in six previous years. Sent off as 8-15 favorite in the four-runner contest, the daughter of Frankel (GB) pulled clear of Estrange (IRE), while her stablemate Garden of Eden (IRE) finished in third ahead of Qilin Queen (IRE). It's a third successive top-level success for Minnie Hauk, who landed the Oaks (G1) at Epsom and the Irish Oaks (G1) at the Curragh. She was immediately cut to 6-1 favorite (from 14) with bet365 for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) following her 3 1/2-length win and is a general 8-1 third favorite with other firms. Speaking to ITV Racing, O'Brien, who now has a record-equaling nine wins in the Yorkshire Oaks, said: "She's beautiful and she does everything right. She cruises and she's a lovely mover, and obviously the Arc and the Breeders' Cup Turf are there for her. "A lot of people have done a lot to look after her, so I appreciate everyone's hard work and I'm delighted. "Ryan (Moore) gave her a class ride and he was very cool on her. She's classy and it was a very confident ride. It wasn't going to be a Mickey Mouse race, they were going to go an even gallop without going crazy." Minnie Hauk would need to be supplemented for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but she now sits towards the top of the market alongside Kalpana (GB) and stablemate Whirl (IRE), who was a convincing Nassau Stakes (G1) scorer at Glorious Goodwood and would also need to be supplemented. O'Brien said: "It's up to the lads. Ryan said possibly the Arc for Whirl and the Breeders' Cup for this filly depending on ground. Whirl, as we saw at Goodwood, handles soft ground, but she handles the other ground as well. "Minnie Hauk has run on soft ground, but we always thought the quicker the ground the better she'd be, and she skipped over that. She has a lot of options, but the better the race the better she'll be." It was a fifth Yorkshire Oaks for Moore, who added: "She's very high class and her record indicates how classy she is. It was fairly straightforward and she traveled into it very well. She doesn't do a whole lot at the front, but when you ask her she finds." The Yorkshire Oaks is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In event for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T). As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Yorkshire Oaks to start in the Filly & Mare Turf. Breeders' Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships.