Aidan O’Brien and Christophe Soumillon team up at Newmarket on Friday with Precise, who is bidding to give the pair a third top-level juvenile victory inside a week in the bet365 Fillies’ Mile.
Having claimed both the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Prix Marcel Boussac on Sunday in France, with Puerto Rico and Diamond Necklace respectively, O’Brien is aiming to maintain his stranglehold on the division.
With Ryan Moore on the sidelines with a broken leg, Soumillon has picked up the baton on the big days and with O’Brien chasing his own Group 1 record of 28 wins in a calendar year – he is currently on 21 – the Belgian ace has taken his chance with both hands.
Precise looks to hold all the aces in this, stepping up to a mile for the first time, but the Ballydoyle trainer also runs Composing (Wayne Lordan), Moments Of Joy (Tom Marquand) and Sugar Island (Sean Levey), who would all be first strings in almost any other yard.
Having won the Group 3 Prestige Stakes at Goodwood, Precise handled the step up tot he highest level in the Moyglare, winning with a bit in hand from stablemate Beautify and Karl Burke’s top-class Venetian Sun.
“Precise has been very good this season and we were delighted with her the last day in the Moyglare,” said O’Brien.
“She’s been coming forward with each run but it hasn’t been a surprise, we always thought she was a nice filly. She’s just progressed all year. It will be interesting to see her over a mile, as she’s not short of a bit of pace.”
Moments Of Joy was third in the Chesham at Royal Ascot and was having her first start since then when second to Joseph O’Brien’s reopposing Queen Of Hawaii in a Group 3 at the end of August.
“Moments Of Joy should come on for her last run, as that was her first for a while,” said O’Brien.
“A mile should suit her well, we think, the nice ground will be in her favour and we’ve been happy with her.”
Composing was favourite for next year’s classics before finishing fourth in the Moyglare and she has been a beaten odds-on favourite in a sales race since.
O’Brien said: “Composing has had a few runs of late, but she’s holding her form well. We’re happy with her since and she’ll like the nice ground and the trip.”
Sugar Island is a Dubawi filly out of Heaven On Earth, who herself was a sister to classic winners Minding, Tuesday and Empress Josephine.
“Sugar Island had a lovely run the last day when third in the May Hill and the trip should suit her well, too.”
The main threat to an O’Brien win could come from Charlie Appleby’s Dance To The Music.
Having won it last year with Desert Flower, who went on to win the 1000 Guineas, the sister to Space Blues will be more at home then when racing in North America last time out.
Appleby told godolphin.com: “Dance To The Music lacked the experience for the tight track at Woodbine, although she came out of the race well.
“She had done little wrong before that run and we felt that she deserved her chance here.
“We have a bit to find with a few of the field, but she goes into the race in great shape and should be a competitive runner.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Legacy Link, who is from the family of Frankel, and Sir Mark Prescott’s Moon Target are others prominent in the betting.
Revival Power will have to fend off another Aidan O’Brien colt if she is to finish her juvenile campaign with Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis Stakes glory.
Tim Easterby’s star two-year-old supported her hard-fought Roses Stakes success at York in August with an impressive Flying Childers triumph during the St Leger Festival on Town Moor.
A full-sister to Nunthorpe heroine Winter Power, the Bungle Inthejungle filly defeated Ballydoyle’s Kansas by a length and a half on her latest outing with another O’Brien charge, Mission Central, finishing further down the field.
That Doncaster victory harboured hopes of a potential Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint tilt, but connections have decided to remain at home for the Group 3 contest on the Rowley Mile, where Revival Power will take on O’Brien’s market leader Brussels, who was last seen taking the runner-up spot in the Middle Park Stakes.
“We are very happy with her,” Alastair Donald, racing manager for owners King Power Racing, said.
“We chose to run her again, we just feel she’s still quite green and needs the experience for next year so we are running with a penalty.
“It will be quite tough to give Brussels 3lb, but I wouldn’t swap her. We think the world of her.
“The ground’s not a problem. It’s a stiffer five, but I think that’ll be okay. Her sister won the race and we think she’s better than her sister.
“She’ll have to run a pretty big figure to win, but we feel she’s capable of it.”
Brussels drops to five furlongs for the first time in his career and O’Brien is interested to see how the son of the late Wootton Bassett will fare.
“He’s dropping back in trip,” he said. “He’s run well at seven, it was six the last day when he ran well in the Middle Park and now he’s at five.
“It was a very good run the last day, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on over this trip.”
Easterby has another smart filly in the race with Argentine Tango, Michael Bell has Spicy Marg, Ayr’s Harry Rosebery Stakes winner Chairmanfourtimes goes for Adrian Keatley and Charlie Appleby lines up Beckford’s Folly among the 11-runner field.
Seven furlongs
Hugo Palmer is excited about the future of Blingy’s Sister, who will step up to seven furlongs for the first time in the Godolphin Lifetime Care Oh So Sharp Stakes.
The daughter of Starspangledbanner came from the rear to finish third in the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes last time out and the Manor House trainer believes she will be in contention once again.
“Obviously we are happy, I thought she ran a massive race in Ireland and I like her,” Palmer said.
“I think she’s got her future all ahead of her. I think she’s a talented filly.
“She should like the quick ground at Newmarket and we are really looking forward to running her. It’s another step up.
“The evidence of how she ran over six (furlongs) at the Curragh would suggest it is going to improve her. I think she will run really well.”
Andrew Balding’s Mubasimah has course and distance experience, Owen Burrows’ Calendar Girl has two wins under her belt already in sales race, and Roger Varian has two arrows for the Group 3 contest with Classic Cuvee and Coming Attraction.


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