Gosden, O'Brien each have a pair for Yorkshire Oaks

The two most successful trainers in the recent history of the Yorkshire Oaks, Aidan O’Brien and John Gosden, figure to have live runners in Thursday’s renewal of the Group 1 fixture.

Run over 1 1/2 miles at York Racecourse and open to females aged 3 and older, the Yorkshire Oaks is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, offering the winning connections automatic fees-paid entry into a Breeders’ Cup race – most naturally the Filly and Mare Turf, run at 1 3/8 miles this year – and travel expenses to Del Mar.

Final declarations for the Yorkshire Oaks weren’t due until Tuesday. Bluestocking would’ve been favored in the Yorkshire Oaks, but owner Juddmonte Farm and trainer Ralph Beckett said early in the week that the filly was an intended runner Wednesday in the International Stakes – which helps bring Gosden and O’Brien into greater prominence.

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Gosden runs the very progressive Queen of the Pride, whom he co-trains with his son Thady Gosden. Four-year-old Queen of the Pride had two quiet runs at age 3 and has come far forward this season, capturing her stakes debut two starts ago in the Group 3 Lester Piggott Stakes before hitting another peak in her most recent outing, the Group 2 Lancashire Oaks on July 6 at Haydock Park.

Settled at the back of the field in that 1 1/2-mile contest, Queen of the Pride moved strongly into contention with about three furlongs remaining and after racing somewhat greenly as she made the lead, leveled off late and scored by three lengths. Haydock, like York, is a left-handed course with a long homestretch, and Queen of the Pride should enjoy the “good” ground she’s likely to get Thursday. Oisin Murphy, under contract to the filly’s owner, Qatar Racing, has the mount.

The Gosdens also have among the entrants Emily Upjohn, who ran well below her best Aug. 1 in the Nassau Stakes, but just two starts ago was second, beaten a half-length by Bluestocking, in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

Gosden has won four Yorkshire Oaks, O’Brien seven, including last year’s edition with Warm Heart, who would go on to finish second in the 2023 BC Filly and Mare Turf. O’Brien also had two entrants as of Monday, Port Fairy and the much heavier hitter, Content. Three-year-old Content has gone winless in four 2024 starts but comes off a second-place finish in the Irish Oaks, where only traffic trouble kept her from victory.

Content was beaten a half-length in the Irish Oaks by You Got To Me, another Beckett-trained entrant in Thursday’s race. As 3-year-olds, Content and You Got To Me carry nine pounds fewer than their older rivals.

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