Alpinista dug deep to bring up a magnificent seventh straight victory in the Gr1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks at York.
It was also the fifth time in a row the gutsy Kirsten Rousing-owned mare has triumphed at Group One level, with the success for the brave daughter of Frankel a first Group One on home soil for trainer Sir Mark Prescott since Marsha landed the Nunthorpe at the same track in 2017.
Luke Morris drives Alpinista to victory (Pic – Racing TV)
Irish Oaks winner Magical Lagoon and fellow raider La Petite Coco led the seven-strong field along in the early stages, with Luke Morris always in the slipstream of the leaders aboard the 7-4 favourite.
Magical Lagoon was the first to crack as the race developed in the straight and having beaten off the challenge of La Petite Coco with a furlong to go, Alpinista stuck her head out and battled to the line to repel Aidan O’Brien’s Tuesday, who finished second at 7-2.
A winner at Saint-Cloud prior to this win on the Knavesmire, all roads now lead back to France for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, with Betfair and Paddy Power both leaving Alpinista unchanged in the market at 8-1.
“They (Group Ones) are all great, but they hard to come by. For a smallish stable, every five or six years you get good ones come along and it’s tremendous when it happens,” said Prescott. “We trained this one’s dam, grand-dam and great grand-dam. It’s been a marvellous family.
“The original intention was to go Coronation (Cup) and King George, but she wouldn’t come (in her coat) in time for the Coronation, so it then became Saint-Cloud (for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud) and then either here or the Vermeille.
“But Miss (Kirsten) Rausing (owner-breeder) was very keen to come here as she (Alpinista) hadn’t won a Group One in England. She has really done it all now, she’s won Group Ones in England, France and Germany.”
He added: “That (Arc) has always been her aim. Last year we rather patted ourselves on the back for being so clever winning three Group Ones in Germany, then when the one behind us (Torquator Tasso) came and won the Arc we rather felt we might not have been as clever as we thought we were!
Please watch the replay here:
“When she stayed in training this year that was always the aim.”
Like all involved at Heath House Stables, Morris is looking forward to the first Sunday in October.
He said: “Since she has been on better ground this year she has looked like a filly with more class so we can dream about Paris now.
Owner-breeder Kirsten Rausing reflects on Alpinista’s success with Lydia Hislop
“Generally the Yorkshire Oaks can look a little top heavy with a superstar of Aidan’s, but I thought it had a lot of depth and she had to give 9lb away to the second. I thought it was a great performance. It’s great she’s been able to show in Britain what she is capable of.
“It’s a massive team effort – the team at Heath House and Lanwades Stud. I’m just the lucky one that gets to sit on her a couple of times a year.”
Aidan O’Brien insisted he was “happy enough” as Cazoo Oaks heroine Tuesday was a gallant runner-up to Alpinista in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks.
Tuesday was having her first outing since finishing fourth to Westover in the Irish Derby at the Curragh in June.
Under Ryan Moore, Tuesday battled on well after the mile-and-a-half Group One contest developed into something of a sprint.
Though she was beaten a length by the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Alpinista, who was earning a fifth Group One success – and a first on home soil – O’Brien was satisfied, insisting she will have at least one more outing this term.
“She will go on (Irish) Champions weekend (September 10 and 11) somewhere, whether she will will stay here, or whether she will go to Ireland or whether she will go to France or whatever. Hopefully she will go somewhere.
“We were happy enough with that. That was her first run back and she ran a very good race.
“It was her first run back and she ran very well, and I don’t think she was losing any ground going to the line, was she? I didn’t think she was.
“She has come back to form after the Curragh. She was a bit hot before the race, but I didn’t mind that – I was hot myself! She is in the mix for the Arc and other races.”
The Paddy Twomey-trained La Petite Coco, who took the Group One Pretty Polly at the Curragh on her first start of the season, finished a further length-and-three-quarters further back in third under Billy Lee.
La Petite Coco, who runs in the ownership of Barry Irwin’s Team Valor operation, may have been closer had the ground ridden easier.
Irwin explained: “She ran well, but she is not the type to set the pace, and nobody else wanted to, so that was somewhat less than ideal.
“I think the difference between her finishing right there with the first two and where she did finish was somewhat quality, because they are two fantastic horses for sure, but our filly needs the soft.
“That ground, it was a good cover on top, but underneath it was firm and she can’t lay her body down like that. On soft turf, not that the others would not have run as well, I think we would have been able to hang with them better if the ground was softer.
“The fact that the race turned into something of a sprint and that she wasn’t going to let herself down as well, played against her somewhat.”
Plans are fluid for the four-year-old daughter of Ruler Of The World, although a potential second round with Alpinista in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is not in the offing.
Irwin said: “Paddy is talking about the Prix de l’Opera – we are going to forget about the Arc this year – or the British Champion Stakes. That is what he is looking at. We need to wait for the ground to soften.
“When she won at the Curragh it was like a miracle, where it rained just before the race and she got her ground. Even though she wasn’t really totally fit, she was able to win anyway, because of the ground.”
Click on the cover to read more!
