John Gosden’s assertion that his smart
filly, The Fugue, would bounce back from a rare below-par effort in
the Coral Eclipse Stakes and be the one to beat in the Group 1 Darley
Yorkshire Oaks proved spot on as William Buick’s mount went one
better than the previous year in easily accounting for Venus De Milo
by four lengths.
Clearly ideally suited by the flat,
galloping circuit, The Fugue - who landed the Group 3 Musidora Stakes
on the Knavesmire in May 2012 before going on to lose out narrowly to
French star, Shareta, by just a neck in the Yorkshire Oaks 12 months
ago - cruised up on the bridle to join the leaders at the two furlong
from home marker.
Once Buick asked her to go about her
business, the contest was immediately over and done with, the
talented daughter of Dansili storming clear of Irish Oaks runner-up,
Venus
de Milo, and Epsom Oaks runner-up, Secret Gesture.
It was a very different scene to the
end of the Coral Eclipse Stakes some seven weeks earlier when The
Fugue finished distressed after running a lifeless race in the
feature contest won by Al Kazeem. Lord Lloyd-Webber’s filly was
subsequently found to be suffering from a nasty virus but has
recovered well from that setback.
Gosden’s star has a number of options
open to her for the rest of the term with a possible tilt at the Prix
de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October certainly not ruled
out, especially if the ground is decent at the showcase Paris track.
The Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in the US is the other
likely target, a race for which The Fugue has now been installed a
clear 2/1 ante-post favourite with betfair.