With just four fillies on show was it an average renewal of the Yorkshire Oaks or something more? Our man Ben Linfoot was trackside on the Knavesmire.
After a day where Italy, Lambourn and Delacroix were all beaten, Ryan Moore was grateful for Minnie Hauk.
Yes, she was 8/15 favourite and it’s true, this likely won’t go down in history as one of the great Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks, but there were some relieved faces among the Coolmore contingent in the winners’ enclosure afterwards and maybe, just maybe, this might be a significant signpost on her way to even greater things.
It was the first thing Aidan O’Brien said to the press huddle. “It was good for Ryan. He had a tough day yesterday when things didn’t work out. The professional he is, he didn’t flinch so I was delighted."
Part-owner Michael Tabor was also pleased not to be licking his wounds 24 hours on: “That’s why you’ve got to appreciate the good days, because they aren’t easy to win.”
This was easy though, wasn’t it? There was a brief moment when Danny Tudhope’s body language suggested the highly likeable Estrange might make a race of it, but you always sensed Moore had any moves covered and when he asked the daughter of Frankel to go, off she went.
“She always finishes no matter what,” says O’Brien. “She doesn’t kill herself when she gets there but she’s always going to the line which is great."
