Ebor Festival: Aidan O’Brien and Snowfall target Yorkshire Oaks

She bids to land the Darley Yorkshire Oaks after streaking clear to win the Epsom Oaks by an imperious 16 lengths before adding the Irish equivalent to put down a marker for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.

John Gosden’s Enable, a dual Arc winner, won all three Oaks in 2017 and O’Brien believes Snowfall’s win in the Musidora Stakes at York’s Dante meeting is another positive.

A daughter of Japanese ace Deep Impact, the filly appeared to have her limitations exposed in Pattern company as a juvenile, but O’Brien is not surprised by the progress she has made since then.

“We always thought the world of her last year, but it never worked out,” said the Ballydoyle trainer.

“From the minute she started this year, everything has gone well.

“She looks very good at the moment. She’s straightforward, relaxes and quickens and also looks like she gets a mile and a half very well.”

Snowfall has also proven herself tactically versatile – dominating from the front in the Musidora, before scything down her rivals both at Epsom and the Curragh.

The biggest threat to the odds-on favourite is David Menuisier’s stable star Wonderful Tonight.

A dual Group One winner last autumn, the four-year-old has picked up where she left off landing both the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Lillie Langtry at Goodwood in impressive style.

She has plenty on her plate, conceding a 9lb weight-for-age allowance to Snowfall, with Menuisier viewing this race as a stepping-stone to the Arc.

John and Thady Gosden’s Loving Dream, and the Roger Varian-trained Eshaada, also deserve respect in this Group One race.