Ylang Ylang surges to win Fillies' Mile

Ylang Ylang’s roller coaster 2-year-old season came to a Group 1-winning peak when she captured the Fillies’ Mile on Friday at Newmarket.

After being steadied about a quarter-mile from the finish of this straight mile when Shuwari drifted in front of her, Ylang Ylang found her best stride and powered through the uphill finish under Ryan Moore to best Shuwari by a half-length. Shuwari, the tepid favorite, had three-quarters of a length on third-place See the Fire, who fought for the lead a furlong out but couldn’t quite kick with the top two.

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Aidan O’Brien trains Ylang Ylang, his sixth Fillies’ Mile winner. A daughter of Frankel and Shambolic, by Shamardal, Ylang Ylang easily won her first two races in June and July but was last of nine with no apparent excuse in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes on Sept. 10. She rebounded with a third-place finish last month at Newmarket in the Rockfel Stakes, where Shuwari had been second, and hit a new level Friday in her first start over one mile.

Ylang Ylang could make her 3-year-old debut in the one-mile 1000 Guineas next May at Newmarket, but from her connections’ post-race comments, the 1 1/2-mile Oaks at Epsom could prove her major target.

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