York Ebor day two: Yorkshire Oaks headlines Ladies’ Day as rain softens the Knavesmire

On day two of the Ebor Festival 2026 at York racecourse the Group One Yorkshire Oaks for fillies and mares is the headline event on the Ladies’ Day card at 3.35. The Knavesmire was damp with the going described as good-to-soft after a further 2.8mm of rain overnight.

The Yorkshire Oaks has a prominent roll of honour that includes recent winner Alpinista, who went on to land the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe a couple of months later, just four years ago, and earlier winners such as Enable, Midday and Islington. The race has not always produced deep fields, with a number of past winners sent off at short odds, but its list of high-quality victors underlines its status on the calendar.

This year’s renewal is considered to have genuine depth. Kalpana, the King George winner at Ascot last month, heads the entries; Minnie Hauk, the 2025 winner, is expected to provide strong opposition; and Johanna Walsh, a three-year-old, arrives off an impressive four-length victory in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh last time out.

Legacy Link, who won the Musidora here back in May, is also among those considered capable of a major run. The recent success of Item, another trial winner at the May meeting, in yesterday’s International Stakes served as a reminder of the value of track form at York.

Supporting races to watch include the Group Two Lowther Stakes for juvenile fillies, scheduled to kick off the proceedings at 1.50, and the Goffs Half Million sales race at 2.25. Those races precede the feature Yorkshire Oaks later on the card.

The afternoon’s programme lists the Lowther Stakes at 1.50, the Goffs Half Million at 2.25 and the Group One Yorkshire Oaks at 3.35 as the key fixtures for Ladies’ Day on day two of the Ebor Festival 2026.