Venus bidding for Yorkshire Oaks glory Aidan O'Brien reports Venus De Milo to be in top form as she bids for glory in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks at York. The Duke Of Marmalade filly did not run as a juvenile but made up for lost time when winning on her debut at Fairyhouse in June before following up in Listed company at Naas just two weeks later. O'Brien then threw her in at the deep end for the Irish Oaks at the Curragh and while she lost her unbeaten record, she finished with a real rattle to take second place behind Chicquita. Venus De Milo returned to winning ways last time out in the Give Thanks Stakes at Cork when she made all the running, after which O'Brien suggested she would be heading to next month's Prix Vermeille in France. However, she is in such good heart those plans were revised and she takes her chance on the Knavesmire. "The original plan was to give her a break and go to the Prix Vermeille," said O'Brien. "But after the Curragh she thrived and really went the right way. We kept her in full work and have been happy with her since. "She is in good form and we decided we would let her take her chance. It's a step up against the older fillies." Another three-year-old tackling her elders is the Ralph Beckett-trained Secret Gesture, who finished second in the Oaks at Epsom and the German equivalent. Beckett had the Oaks winner Talent entered originally but the likely fast ground has seen her rerouted to Doncaster for the St Leger. Earlier in the season Secret Gesture was considered in a different league to Talent and connections were disappointed she was beaten in Germany, but she now has the opportunity to prove her class closer to home. "She came out of her run in Germany better than any of us could have hoped. She had a very hard race that day," said Beckett. "Her work has been good since, she looks great and we're very much looking forward to the race on Thursday." Jamie Spencer rides Secret Gesture and is hoping the long straight at York will play to her strengths. "Hopefully the race will be run to suit and she can show that she's one of the better fillies," Spencer told At The Races. "I rode the race to beat the track (in Germany) rather than the opposition and got nailed close home, hopefully on a more conventional course I can ride a normal race on her." Lady Cecil's Wild Coco changed hands after winning her two starts last season and the lightly-raced five-year-old looked as good as ever when claiming the Lillie Langtry at Goodwood for the second successive year. Tom Queally has chosen to partner her ahead of the Ribblesdale winner Riposte, but the fast ground on the Knavesmire is giving her connections cause for concern. Taki Murayama, who represents Wild Coco's owners, K I Farm Corporation, said: "It all depends on the ground. Lady Cecil is very keen to run but if it is too firm, she may take her out. "It will be purely up to Lady Cecil, I imagine the decision will be left as late as possible as there is a chance it could rain before the race. It would be a shame as we had been looking forward to running." Queally believes she deserves the step up in class, but stressed how important the ground was to Wild Coco. "She was impressive at Goodwood. Obviously she'd been off the track a long time. She's been in good fettle since that run," said Queally. "She won in decisive fashion on that occasion and hopefully there's more to come. "We just had to wait for the ground. It can be frustrating when it's so quick at times, but we got her there on the day. "She's entitled to have a crack at races like this from now on in. I think she'll make her presence felt."
