York: The Fugue faces own kind in Yorkshire Oaks

The Fugue starts against fillies and mares for the first time since a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf last fall when she runs in Thursday’s $500,500 Yorkshire Oaks at York Racecourse in England.

Trained by John Gosden, The Fugue has started twice this year, losing to top British older male Al Kazeem in both races. The Fugue was third in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19 and last of seven in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on July 6.

A 4-year-old filly owned by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, The Fugue has won 3 of 10 starts, including the Group 1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood in August 2012. In her following start, The Fugue was second in the 2012 Yorkshire Oaks, which is run over 1 1/2 miles for fillies and mares.

Regular rider William Buick will ride The Fugue in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, which is part of the Breeders’ Cup’s Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth for the winner to the BC Filly and and Mare Turf at Santa Anita in November.

The Fugue is part of a field of eight in the Yorkshire Oaks. She must beat Venus de Milo, a 3-year-old who was second in the Irish Oaks on July 20 for trainer Aidan O’Brien. Trainer Jane Cecil starts Wild Coco, a winner of three consecutive stakes since early August 2012.