Hispanic put down after breaking leg following accidental fallSecret Satire heads for Oaks after victory in Epsom trial
A fall in both the second and third races, one of which involved a fatal injury, made for difficult viewing for racegoers and armchair fans alike as York – the Ascot of the north – opened its 2024 season on Wednesday, while the result of the Group Three Musidora Stakes, in which the odds-on favourite, Friendly Soul, finished well beaten behind Secret Satire, a 22-1 shot, was also not one for many punters to celebrate.
There is no need to look back any further than last year’s running of the Musidora, however, to find an example of a surprise winner – Soul Sister – that followed up in the Oaks 16 days later, and Andrew Balding’s filly will now bid to give her trainer a second success in the Epsom Classic on 31 May, 21 years on from the first with Casual Look in 2003.
