With The Moonlight gets her revenge in G3 Saratoga Oaks

With The Moonlight turned the tables on McKulick as she ran out a convincing winner of the G3 Saratoga Oaks at Saratoga, USA, on Sunday, 7 August.

The Frankel homebred, who had chased home McKulick in the G1 Belmont Oaks in July, raced freely in a clear second for much of the extended nine-furlong turf feature.

With The Moonlight closed in on Contemporary Art three furlongs out before taking up the running down the centre of the course at the top of the straight.

William Buick kept the Charlie Appleby-trained filly up to her work in the closing stages as she comfortably beat McKulick by a length and three-quarters.

Michael Banahan, Director of Bloodstock, Godolphin USA, said: “It’s been a fantastic weekend, with this filly and Nations Pride shipping over to win. Charlie has done a fantastic job and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed has given us this opportunity to ship horses around the world. It’s the first time at Saratoga for Charlie and William, so it’s great for them to be two-from-two here.

“With The Moonlight had a good trip. She broke well, held a nice position and had a target to run at. They probably could have gone a bit quicker on the front end but she quickened up nicely and stayed on well.”

William Buick said: “The pace was even throughout and With The Moonlight got a tail to follow, which helped. She didn’t stay a mile and a half in the UK and you saw today that she has a lot of speed.

“She has adapted really well out here and it’s similar to Nations Pride yesterday – they both ran at Belmont a month ago, which stood them in good stead for this weekend. They got some experience under their belts and it definitely helped to get used to the style of racing.”