2026 Yorkshire Oaks News - Quotes from connections
As anticipation builds for the 2026 Yorkshire Oaks at York's Ebor Festival, connections and trainers of leading fillies share their insights. Jockey Colin Keane expresses high confidence in Kalpana, highlighting her adaptability. Aidan O'Brien analyzes Minnie Hauk's optimal race strategy, while Joseph O'Brien emphasizes Johanna Walsh's strong preparation. Other trainers, including John Gosden and Ralph Beckett, detail each runner's form and race suitability. The consensus: each filly brings unique strengths, making this Group One an open and competitive contest.
- Quotes from connections ahead of the 2026 Yorkshire Oaks
- This Group One takes place at York racecourse on August 20th
- Read quotes from Colin Keane, Aidan O'Brien, Joseph O'Brien and more
Read exclusive quotes from connections ahead of the 2026 Yorkshire Oaks, which takes place at York on day two of the 2026 Ebor Festival.
Here's what connections have had to say ahead of this Group One.
2026 Yorkshire Oaks News - Quotes From Connections
Colin Keane (Jockey of Kalpana)
She’s up there with the best in the world now and she’s starting to get the recognition she deserves. She’s a queen, so she is. She was very good at Ascot and I’m looking forward to seeing her back out.
Ascot does seem to really suit her, for whatever reason I don’t really know. She’s such a straightforward mare, though, and York is a flat, left-handed track so there’s no reason she won’t be as effective there.
You can forgive her Arc run for the ground and that is just about the only day she has slightly underperformed.
Aidan O'Brien (Minnie Hauk)
We rode her a little bit too forward in the King George. She got caught beside Lambourn all the way and she was probably in a gear too high the whole way and it just cost her in the last furlong.
She’s one of those fillies where a mile and a half is far enough for her – you wouldn’t want to go any further – and as we saw at Royal Ascot she’s very comfortable at a mile and a quarter.
Joseph O'Brien (Johanna Walsh)
Johanna Walsh has had a good preparation for the (Yorkshire) Oaks. We think she will like the track in York and will love the ground. It looks a very competitive race, but we are excited to take her there.
Thundering On has had a little mid-season break and Johanna obviously wasn’t as busy earlier in the season so it makes sense for her to go on to here from the Curragh.
John Gosden (Legacy Link)
I think she ran a super race in the Epsom Oaks. Probably the ground was a little too quick for her back at Ascot, and maybe the race came a little quick, but she seemed in great order.
She's in good form now. She, like everybody in this country right now, would very much like to see some rain, but we're pleased with her.
Ralph Beckett (Tattycoram)
She is training well off the back of her win in the Lancashire Oaks at the start of July and is in good form ahead of her run in the Yorkshire Oaks.
She’s an improving filly and we think this contest might set up well for her.
Richard Brown (Racing manager for Earth Shot's owners Wathnan Racing)
It was disappointing and she’d beaten the winner at Royal Ascot, but we think the ground was just too quick for her, so we’ll put a line through it and go again.
It was very fast ground, she doesn’t need soft ground but we won’t run her on very fast ground again. It may be the case she got away with it once at Ascot, but the guys were saying it was exceptionally quick at the Curragh, lightning fast.
I think she’ll be fine staying at a mile and a half for now and then we might explore stepping up in trip later on. She’s a Group Two winner already and we’re just going to put a line through that and move forward with confidence.
Eamonn O’Connor (Spokesman for Inis Mor's owners, Quantum Leap Racing)
First and foremost we had to consider the distance and I think in the Irish Oaks she showed she is a pretty strong stayer.
She finished like a train at the Curragh and in fact I think no one covered the last two furlongs quicker.
Of the three races we were considering – the Romanet at Deauville and the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp – the Yorkshire Oaks is perhaps the stiffest competition, but we are not going to duck a challenge.
She has some black type, but she hasn’t got that Group One win that would really allow us to shoot for the stars and we (the syndicate) were set up to not duck challenges and we rather set ourselves up with the name didn’t we, so we go to York.
Jim Bolger (Sparan Nua)
Things didn’t work out too well there in the Irish Oaks so she would be value for a bit more than that.
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