Lingfield Park Racecourse© Photo Healy Racing
You Got To Me put up a front-running display full of class and no little guts to hold all-comers in the William Hill Oaks Trial Fillies’ Stakes at Lingfield.
Sharply to the head of affairs and racing with lots of zest in the early exchanges, Ralph Beckett’s charge was a long way clear at one stage under Hector Crouch.
It looked like the cavalry had arrived to collar the leader inside the final two furlongs, with Treasure and Danielle emerging as huge threats.
But they could not put You Got To Me (7-2) away, and in the end it was Ryan Moore on Rubies Are Red who came from the clouds to get within half a length of the victor.
Crouch said: “It wasn’t deliberate to go quite that quick, she’s a horse that likes to get on with things and if you get in an argument with her she’s 10 times worse. You have to let her be her and it worked out nicely.
“I was out of control until the first bend, then she had a look at the hill and backed off for me. She did everything very nicely from the six to the three (furlong marker), then she was very game in the finish.
“She came down the hill beautifully. She’s a very big horse, but she’s beautifully balanced. I’m really pleased.
“She’s always done good work at home, we expected her to win first time and she just a bit weak at the backend last year.”
Beckett has past history regarding this race, as 2008 runner-up Look Here went on to win the Oaks, while 2013 wide-margin winner Secret Gesture subsequently finished second to stablemate Talent at Epsom.
He said of You Got To Me’s performance: “It was a terrific effort from the horse and jockey. It was important not to get in her way, she’s a filly that needs to get into a rhythm and she’s not a filly who likes being ordered around.
“Hector obviously knows her well and rides the track particularly well and it all came together. I was pretty sure we’d handle the track, it was just whether she was good enough.”
As for handling the atmosphere at Epsom, Beckett added: “If you saw her in the prelims, she was very settled, she just knows her own mind and I think Epsom will suit her well. It’s about which horse suits the place best and I think she’ll suit it.”
Paddy Power reported plenty of support for Rubies Are Red given the manner of her finishing effort, going 10-1 having been 16-1 immediately after the race. Coral quoted the winner at 12-1 and are 14-1 about the runner-up.
Of the Aidan O’Brien-trained Rubies Are Red, Coolmore’s UK representative Kevin Buckley said: “Ryan said he couldn’t get her going down the hill, which meant he had extra ground to make up.
“But it was a new experience for her and we would be happy with that.”
In third was 2-1 favourite Danielle, with John Gosden feeling ground conditions were not totally to her liking.
He said: “I was pleased with that, although it got a little lively in the straight. She came down the hill fine, I would say we would be looking for a little juice in the ground going forward.”
Fourth home was the winner’s stablemate, Treasure, who ran a promising race in the colours of the King and Queen on only her second racecourse start.
She was ridden by Rossa Ryan, who would also have liked a bit more ease in the ground but was delighted nonetheless.
He said: “I was very pleased with my filly, time will tell that she’s the one to take out of the race.”
Treasure looks set to sidestep the Oaks, though, with trainer Beckett commenting: “There’s no firm plan, but the Ribblesdale would be likely. She’ll come on plenty for it, but I don’t think we can go to Epsom on the back of it probably – maybe the Ribblesdale, we’ll have a think.”
