Thursday is the second day of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival at York, with the Group 1 Legends Global Yorkshire Oaks at 3.35pm the day’s feature.
Irish-trained fillies will hold a strong hand in this race with recent Juddmonte Irish Oaks winner, Johanna Walsh, and Aidan O’Brien’s 2025 Yorkshire Oaks victor, Minnie Hauk, leading the Irish challenge in a race the Ballydoyle handler has taken in five of the past six years. The Irish team will be completed by Jim Bolger’s Sparán Nua and Aidan O’Brien’s Sugar Island.
Juddmonte Farms, winning owners of the Juddmonte International hero yesterday, Item, will likely add another Group 1 with Kalpana here.
The five-year-old daughter of Study Of Man is a multiple winner at the highest level, most recently defeating Calandagan, Benvenuto Cellini, Lambourn and one of today’s opponents, Minnie Hauwk, in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Legacy Link, runner-up to Thundering On in the Betfred Oaks at Epsom in June, is also among the nine-runner field, and will add strength to the Juddmonte challenge.
In the opening Group 2 for fillies, the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes, Paddy Twomey (Big Negotiator), Ger Lyons (Livenka) and Joseph O’Brien (Star Of State) will all be represented, with the latter, a recent Leopardstown maiden winner, likely to head the market.
Recent Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner at The Curragh, Sun Goddess, £120,000 purchase at the Goffs UK premier yearling sale, qualifies to run in the Harry’s Half Million By Goffs at 2.25pm. If she has come out of the Phoenix Stakes well, she should be very difficult to beat in this race. The other Irish contender here is the Donnacha O’Brien-prepared Where Love Lies.
Both Paddy Twomey and Joseph O’Brien have runners in the listed fillies and mares race at 4.10pm. The 97-rated Perfect Your Craft represents the former, while the Carriganóg handler will saddle the consistent, and 98-rated, Vauntingly. Ryan Moore takes the ride aboard Morrophore for John and Thady Gosden and will start the race as favourite.
Irish-trained runners at York on Thursday, 20 August 2026:
1.50 Sky Bet Lowther Stakes (Fillies’ Group 2)
Big Negotiator (GB) P Twomey
Livenka (GB) G M Lyons
Star Of State (IRE) Joseph Patrick O’Brien
2.25 Harry’s Half Million By Goffs (GBB Race)
Where Love Lives (IRE) Donnacha Aidan O’Brien
Sun Goddess (IRE) A P O’Brien
3.35 Legends Global Yorkshire Oaks (Fillies’ And Mares’ Group 1)
Minnie Hauk (IRE) A P O’Brien
Johanna Walsh (IRE) Joseph Patrick O’Brien
Sparan Nua (IRE) J S Bolger
Sugar Island (IRE) A P O’Brien
4.10 British EBF & Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes (Fillies’ And Mares’ Listed) (GBBPlus Race)
Perfect Your Craft (IRE) P Twomey
Vauntingly (IRE) Joseph Patrick O’Brien
