Dual Oaks heroine Snowfall hardened her reputation as being one of the best in training by taking out the opposition in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks – and she was subsequently cut to 5-2 (from 7-2) for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October.
Odds of 8-15 were made to look generous after the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly made light work of her rivals in the day-two showpiece at the York Ebor festival.
Snowfall showed decent form as a juvenile but is now unbeaten in four starts as a three-year-old, her Yorkshire Oaks success coming off the back of easy wins in the Epsom and Curragh equivalents.
Her victory elevated O’Brien to six Yorkshire Oaks triumphs while her rider Ryan Moore was taking the race for a third time.
Fellow O’Brien-trained La Joconde cut out the early fractions with Snowfall biding her time at the rear under Moore.
She improved to lead with over two furlongs to race and ended up winning hands and heels in the finish, with principle rival Wonderful Tonight only fourth.
Expert jury: is Snowfall your idea of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner?
O’Brien said: “She’s a lovely filly, always done everything very easily. She quickens very well and she’s gone really laid back now. She’s starting to thrive and is starting to put on weight. She’s going to be ready for the autumn.”
He added: “You can see her doing well physically and her weight is going up so you could see her doing well in the autumn. We’ll be looking forward to her for the autumn. She’s by Deep Impact out of a Galileo mare so she was always going to get better. She always worked like a very good filly.”
Yorkshire Oaks: full result and race replay
Asked if she could go straight to the Arc or have a run beforehand, O’Brien said: “I’ll see what the lads want to do. It’s possible that she could take in another run because physically she’s doing well. Whether the lads want to go to Arc trials day or go straight to the Arc, we’ll see what they want to do.” (fonte : RacingPost)
