Godolphin clinched their second Group 1 success of the week when Punctilious won the Yorkshire Oaks on day two of the Ebor meeting yesterday.
It was also a first victory for the filly at the highest level and sixth in all for the stable this season.
But Punctilious needed to dig deep for jockey Kerrin McEvoy in order to see off Dash To The Top and prevail by half a length.
French raider Lune d'Or was two lengths back in third. Epsom Oaks winner Eswarah, racing in the colours of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry, came late on the outside to finish fourth.
Racing manager Simon Crisford said on the Godolphin website: "Punctilious was thoroughly honest today and she really deserved that success. "She won at Group Two level at Royal Ascot last year and was second to the great filly Ouija Board in the Irish Oaks.
"Punctilious is very stoutly bred we were thinking about missing this race and going instead for the Park Hill [Group 2, Doncaster, 14 furlongs 132 yards; September 7] as we knew she would get a mile and a six furlongs no problem. "It was only in the last week that we looked at the Yorkshire Oaks and thought she belongs in it as a Group One opportunity. So she took her chance.
"As long as she is happy and well, we will keep going this season. There is nothing to lose. Kerrin McEvoy is a superb jockey and a great team player a great asset to our stable."
McEvoy told Channel 4 Racing: "She's just been coming to herself and in her last two runs she's been very game. She kept galloping and has done a great job. She was one of the top three-year-olds last year and we've got her back now."
Results
Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1) (3yo+ fillies) 11 ran (1m 4f):
1) Punctilious 13-2 (trained by Saeed Bin Surour) ridden by K McEvoy; 2) Dash To The Top 8-1 (L Cumani) K Fallon ; 3) Lune D'or 9-1 (R Gibson) T Jarnet; 4) Eswarah 5-1 (M Jarvis) R Hills.
Distances: 1/2 length. 2.
Winning Time: 2min 28.76secs.
