Danielle stamps her class on Bronte Cup

Danielle showcased her class when dominating in the William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies’ Stakes at York.

Connections of the Cracksman mare have had to be patient with the five-year-old and they still took a gamble in good conditions on a sunny Knavesmire.

She prefers cut in the ground, highlighted by her comprehensive Gillies Fillies’ Stakes success at Doncaster on her last appearance in October, but she was rated 14lb higher than the rest of the field in the one-mile-six-furlong Group Three contest.

Sat prominently behind Tamam Desert, the John and Thady Gosden-trained mare oozed confidence when Robert Havlin asked her to increase the tempo and take the outright lead with three furlongs to go.

Danielle kicked clear and despite the chasing pack closing the gap, she kept them at arm’s length to justify her 1-2 favourite tag with a length-and-a-quarter victory.

“She is tough, I mean she was well clear on ratings and it was always going to be a messy race,” Havlin said.

“I’d have loved to get a lead if I could, but I didn’t want to make it into a two-furlong dash so I thought I’d go to the front.

“Obviously the ground is quick enough for her so at the bottom of the straight I let her go really, just so she had time to really let herself down. She toughed it out well, she will come on for that race as well.

“She’s best being dropped in a little bit off a fast pace on soft ground, so she’s done everything that’s she’s not supposed to.

“She’s gone over a mile and quarter, she’s been really competitive in the Park Hill and stuff, she’s very versatile.”