Ribblesdale Stakes Fillies' Group 2 | Class 1 | 3YO only Winner £154,818 - 19 entered to run Last year’s race Winner: Warm Heart Jockey: Ryan L Moore Trainer: Aidan P O'Brien Owner: Mrs J Magnier/M Tabor/D Smith/Westerberg Age: 3 Weight: 9st 2lbs Starting Price: 13/2 Season Form Figures: 211 Previous Best: 1st - Haras De Bouquetot Fillies' Trial Stakes (Listed), Newbury (May 2023) By Paul Jones Oaks runners have a fair record, given how few fillies have contested both prizes by turning out again relatively quickly, recording seven wins since 1997. It is not a massively strong trends race but it can still pay to look to a later-developing improver, with just seven winners in the last 29 years having contested Group races as a juvenile, so the Ribblesdale boasts a very similar pattern in this respect to the colts' equivalent of this race at the Royal Meeting, the King Edward VII Stakes. With regards to a filly’s last run, five winners in the last 22 years won a maiden last time out. The 2019 winner Star Catcher previously finished third in the Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial (Listed) at Newbury but ended the season as the leading three-year-old middle-distance filly, adding three Group 1s after her success in the Ribblesdale. Last year’s winner Warm Heart won that same Oaks Trial (with Bluestocking placing in both races) before going on to win three Group 1 races after her Royal Ascot success, as well as only narrowly being beaten in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf behind Inspiral. So could that Listed contest at Newbury, in which Diamond Rain beat Ejaabiyah (2nd) and Siyola (3rd) last month, be the best guide moving forward, with the aforementioned three all bypassing the Oaks? Star Catcher was trained by John Gosden as was Loving Dream in 2021, who was previously only fifth in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, but she also went on to Group 1 success later in the campaign and so was another for the stable to take a big step forward in winning here. The Gosden yard are now chasing a fifth win in eight years (also saddled four seconds this century), having also won the Ribblesdale with Coronet and Frankly Darling. Winning form earlier in the season is usually a good steer, with 19 of the last 25 winners having won either of their last two starts during the current campaign, and 11 of the last 16 winners having won at Group or Listed level at some point in their career. Following Warm Heart’s success for Aidan O’Brien last season, the Irish have won the Ribblesdale ten times in the last 22 years (four for O’Brien and two Dermot Weld), so collectively they have fared considerably better than in the King Edward VII Stakes. Godolphin were unusually quiet in this race with no runners between 2006-2008, but they have won it twice since to add to their three previous successes (all trained by Saeed bin Suroor) and four seconds from 15 runners. Sir Michael Stoute should be faring a whole lot better having been responsible for six losing favourites from his last 24 runners, the latest being Noon Star in 2021 who could only finish sixth as the 2/1 market leader. Positives Won a Group or Listed race Trained in Ireland or John & Thady Gosden Contested the Oaks Trial at Newbury Last-time-out maiden winners Owned by Godolphin Did not contest a Group race as a two-year-old Negatives Not won either of last two starts Trained by Sir Michael Stoute