Bolt from the Blue too good for Precise at Newmarket

Andrew Balding’s daughter of Blue Point was second to Fallen Angel in the Sun Chariot last October – her only other previous appearance in Group One company – but has proven unstoppable since and was notching her third win of the calendar year having landed the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at the Royal meeting.

Sent off the 85-40 second-favourite, Colin Keane had the four-year-old tracking Ballydoyle pacemaker Venosa among a group of four in the centre of the track that also included Aidan O’Brien’s Irish 1,000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner Precise, who was the 4-5 favourite.

With Venosa unable to take the field any further than six furlongs, the race began to quickly unfold with a quarter of a mile to run and although at one stage there were four in a line with jockeys urging on their mounts, inside the final furlong there was only one winner, with Blue Bolt surging two-lengths clear of Precise to edge the battle of the generations.

Balding said: “She’s quality, she looked good at Ascot and it was just good to see her do it today in that style.

“She was just getting a bit lonely there at the end and she’s just got that amazing cruising speed and ability to sustain it and she is exceptional.

“Colin has absolutely mastered her and I was saying earlier, since her debut at Southwell which feels a long time ago now, she has barely put a foot wrong on the racecourse. We’re thrilled to have her.

“I think it was a deep race, definitely, and I think my concern today was the quick ground might have caught her out.

“I did think we would get a little further, but I think it’s obvious after today a mile is her trip.

“Alcohol Free won a Cheveley Park, July Cup, a Sussex Stakes and a Coronation and she was unbelievably versatile, whereas this filly is just an exceptional miler.

“I think the Matron Stakes (at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend) is the obvious one, but whether we look at Deauville in between, we will have to see.”

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Although beaten when facing her elders for the first time, O’Brien refused to be despondent with the performance of Precise.

The master of Ballydoyle is now considering a step up in trip for the daughter of Starspangledbanner, something that was first pondered when the four-time Group One winner was talked of as an Oaks candidate following her Classic victory at the Curragh.

O’Brien said: “She ran very well, obviously she looked like she will stay further but we always thought that was going to happen anyway.

“We left her at a mile because there was no reason to move her up, but looking at her today, the older filly was a bit quicker through the middle of the race than her and just got away from her a little bit and she was coming back again at the line.

“We’ll see, she still ran a very good race. It’s possible we’ll step up in trip now, but Diamond Necklace is going to Goodwood for the Nassau, so she won’t go there.”