Alpinista grinds out another Group 1 in Yorkshire Oaks; points for Arc

Alpinista won her fifth Group 1 in a row, adding an English race, the Yorkshire Oaks on Friday at York Racecourse, to top-level tallies in Germany last year and France to start the 5-year-old mare’s season.

The 1 1/2-mile Yorkshire Oaks unfolded at a slow tempo and turned into a three-furlong sprint to the wire, Alpinista coming out one length better than Tuesday. Tuesday, who won the Oaks at Epsom on June 3, carried nine pounds fewer than Alpinista as a 3-year-old facing older horses.

Alpinista, trained by Mark Johnston, was stoked up by jockey Luke Morris a long way from the finish, first overtaking La Petite Coco, who would go on to finish third, and then holding clear a sustained challenge from Tuesday, most recently fourth in the Irish Derby. Following La Petite Coco across the finish were Lilac Road, Magical Lagoon, Raclette, and Poptronic.

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Alpinista, heavily favored Thursday, now is a nine-time winner from 14 starts. By Frankel out of Awilda, by Hernando, the mare has been aimed toward the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe all year, and her next start will come in that race, according to Johnston.

The Yorkshire Oaks is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, offering automatic fees-paid entry into the BC Filly and Mare Turf with travel expenses to Keeneland this fall. But so far there has been no mention of an overseas trip for Alpinista. Runner-up Tuesday has multiple upcoming options in Ireland and France and could be a candidate for a Breeders’ Cup race.

Options for Baaeed

A day after their horse notched an exceptional win in the Group 1 International, his first race longer than one mile, the connections of Baaeed opened two more options for their star 4-year-old.

In the immediate aftermath of the 1 5/16-mile International, which Baaeed won by more than six lengths, trainer William Haggas reiterated the plan to await the Champion Stakes on Oct. 15 at Ascot, which would be the final start for Baaeed, unbeaten during his 10-start career. Thursday, Haggas laid out two more options for Baaeed, saying Baaeed could go to the Irish Champion Stakes in advance of the Champion, or that Baaeed could instead target the Arc for his swan song rather than the Champion.

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Baaeed, by Sea The Stars, is rated the best horse in the world. He has won six Group 1s and was even more dominant stretching out at Wednesday’s longer distance than he had been over one mile.

Nunthorpe topped by Royal Acclaim

Royal Acclaim, a 3-year-old with three starts, none in group stakes company, was the solid antepost favorite as of Thursday for the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes on Friday at York.

Three for three to start his career, Royal Acclaim was an easy course-and-distance winner of a listed race on July 9, and fixed-odds betting was slightly less than 2-1 to beat 14 foes in the five-furlong, straight-course Nunthorpe.

While Royal Acclaim gets a five-pound allowance from the older male sprinters, 2-year-old filly The Platinum Queen carries just 114 pounds – including jockey Hollie Doyle – and gets as much as 27 pounds from the race’s older male horses. The Platinum Queen has won three of her four starts, including a five-furlong sprint at York.