Love dominant in Yorkshire Oaks; on to Arc as probable favorite

Love knows no bounds. Not this European racing season, at least, and certainly not Wednesday at York Racecourse in England, where Love, with little more than taps from jockey Ryan Moore, won the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks by five lengths.

On paper there was little to test Love, who won the English 2000 Guineas by 4 1/4 lengths and the Epsom Oaks by nine in her two previous 2020 starts, and out on the racecourse – rated good to soft, softer going than Love found in her last two outs – the fabulous filly also found no competition. Manuela de Vega led, Love tracking in second before One Voice began a wide run about 3 1/2 furlongs from the finish. Moore responded by letting Love out a notch and by the three-furlong marker Love gained control and never let anyone get close. Moore easing up the final furlong of the 1 1/2-mile contest, Love coasted home far in front of runner-up Alpinista with One Voice third.

Love, by Galileo out of Pikaboo by Pivotal, now has six wins from 10 starts though she has blossomed into a much better performer at 3, relative to her peers, than she was at 2. Trainer Aidan O’Brien said he considered this start, Love’s first since her Oaks win July 4, the star of a fall campaign and plans to run the filly next in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 4.

Love is the favorite for the Arc, where, as a 3-year-old filly, she gets as much as a 15-pound weight break from older males like Ghaiyyath, who impressively won the Group 1 Juddmonte International on Wednesday at York. Also awaiting Love in Paris is two-time Arc winner Enable, who herself twice used the Yorkshire Oaks as a springboard to the Arc.

The Yorkshire Oaks is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” race offering automatic fees-paid entry into the BC Filly and Mare Turf. But with Love’s light 2020 campaign, O’Brien and the Coolmore ownership team more likely have their sites set on the BC Turf if there’s a trip to America in the cards this fall.