Love is in the air for Darley Yorkshire Oaks at York’s Ebor Festival

The centrepiece of day two of the Ebor Festival, the task facing Aidan O’Brien’s stable star appears to be a formality after 2017 and 2019 heroine Enable was not entered.

But the manner of Love’s performance, on the back of stunning successes in the 1000 Guineas and Epsom Oaks, will indicate the three-year-old’s wellbeing ahead of her much-anticipated clash with Enable in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

And victory on the Knavesmire would see Love join a roll of honour which, since 2010, has included great fillies and mares like Midday, Shareta, The Fugue, Sea Of Class and, of course, the aforementioned Enable, a dual winner for jockey Frankie Dettori and trainer John Gosden.

O’Brien, Ireland’s all-conquering champion trainer, has already won this race on four occasions and he’s hopeful of adding to his tally. O’Brien said: “I suppose we were a bit unsure going into the Guineas, because we’d always viewed her as a middle-distance filly.

“We were obviously delighted with what she did at Newmarket, and it all went well between then and the Oaks.

“Obviously, what she then went and did in the Oaks we were delighted with, and everything she has done between then and now has pleased us.

“Hopefully this is the start of her preparation for the start of the autumn. We’re looking forward to seeing her run.”

Asked if Love will head straight from York to the Arc, O’Brien said: “We’ll take things one race at a time, but it is very possible that we could do something like that.

“We won’t get ahead of ourselves and take it race by race, but she could do something like that.”

Meanwhile, Mark Johnston appears to have another exciting prospect after the aptly-named Gear Up hit top stride just in time to land the Tattersalls Acomb Stakes yesterday.

Already a course winner, the Silvestre de Sousa-ridden colt overhauled Karl Burke’s Spycatcher late on a one-two for Middleham.

It was Johnston’s fourth victory in the Group Three seven furlong face for juveniles – an early test for potential 2021 Classic contenders.

The big disappointment of the race was Godolphin’s Cloudbridge, who ran far too free in the early stages and had nothing left at the business end – the William Buick and Charlie Appleby would be compensated later by Ghaiyyath’s dominant win in the feature Juddmonte International.

n Superstar sprinter Battaash will face seven rivals as he bids to defend his crown in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes tomorrow.

Charlie Hills’ speedster clocked 55.9 seconds for the five furlongs when romping to victory 12 months ago, beating the course record held by another Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum sprinter, Dayjur, in 1990.

Battaash showed he is in no mood to relinquish his speed title when smashing his own personal best for the flying five at Goodwood in landing the King George Stakes for a fourth time three weeks ago.

The six-year-old will face a couple of new kids on the block on Friday, in the three-year-olds Art Power for Great Habton trainer Tim Easterby and A’Ali for Simon and Ed Crisford.