Yorkshire Oaks: Alpinista sends Arc statement with York triumph to extend unbeaten run for Sir Mark Prescott | Racing News

Alpinista extended her remarkable unbeaten run to seven and claimed a fifth Group One in a row as Sir Mark Prescott’s popular grey mare won the Darley Yorkshire Oaks on Thursday.

Sent off a 7/4 favourite on just her second start of the year after victory in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last month, the five-year-old showed her huge heart under Luke Morris once more to fend off Aidan O’Brien’s Oaks winner Tuesday (7/2).

Paddy Twomey’s 4/1 shot La Petite Coco was first to the front as the classy seven-runner field quickened for their sprint to the line and served it up to Alpinista on her outside.

Ryan Moore, on Tuesday, joined the pair to make a line of three at the final furlong pole, with Jessica Harrington’s Irish Oaks champion Magical Lagoon unable to keep pace with the front three.

It is another tick in Alpinista’s box on her road to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp in October for which she is now 6/1 joint-favourite with Japan’s Titleholder and Juddmonte winner Baaeed.

“They [Group Ones] are all great, but they are hard to come by. For a smallish stable, every five or six years you get good ones come along and it’s tremendous when it happens,” said Prescott. “We trained this one’s dam, grand-dam and great grand-dam. It’s been a marvellous family.

“The original intention was to go Coronation [Cup] and King George, but she wouldn’t come [in her coat] in time for the Coronation, so it then became Saint-Cloud [for the Prix Ganay] and then either here or the Vermeille.

“But Miss (Kirsten) Rausing (owner-breeder) was very keen to come here as she [Alpinista] hadn’t won a Group One in England. She has really done it all now, she’s won Group Ones in England, France and Germany.”

He went on: “That [Arc] has always been her aim. Last year we rather patted ourselves on the back for being so clever winning three Group Ones in Germany, then when the one behind us (Torquator Tasso) came and won the Arc we rather felt we might not have been as clever as we thought we were!

“When she stayed in training this year that was always the aim.”