Aidan O’Brien is within sight of his own record of 28 Group One wins in a calendar year after Precise, the new 5-1 favourite for next year’s 1,000 Guineas, took his 2025 tally at the highest level to 22 with a convincing success in the Fillies’ Mile, the feature event on day one of the Future Champions weekend at Newmarket.
Christophe Soumillon was easing down on Precise, the 5-4 favourite, as she crossed the line three and a quarter lengths in front of Charlie Johnston’s Venetian Lace (40-1), having hit the front around a furlong out. She was O’Brien’s second winner of a juvenile fillies’ Group One in the space of six days, following Diamond Necklace’s success in the Prix Marcel Boussac last weekend, and third in the last fortnight since True Love’s victory in the Cheveley Park Stakes last month.
“She looks very special and everything she has done from day one has been so easy, so we were never sure how good she was,” O’Brien said. “She looks serious and it reminded me of [the 2015 winner] Minding [who went on to five Group Ones at three].
“She’s doing everything so easy. She’s a total natural athlete so you never do too much at home with her, but these races, like this and the Boussac, you like to see them in there so you know what you have for next year.
“She was out very quick and what you love about her is she sailed down to the two-furlong pole and at that point you thought she was going to win. By the time she got to the seven it was over.”
O’Brien rarely lets the juvenile turf races at the Breeders’ Cup meeting pass without a fancied runner from Ballydoyle but he feels that both Precise and Diamond Necklace have done enough for the year.
“When those special ones come along you have to look after them and give them a chance and let them mature over the winter,” he said. “I’d say we’ll put her away and we’ll train her for the Classics.”
A Ballydoyle filly that could be on the way to San Diego, though, is Minnie Hauk, the Oaks winner in England and Ireland this summer, who went down narrowly to Daryz after setting off as the favourite for last Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
“Minnie is very good, everything seems well with her and it’s possible she could be trained for the Breeders’ Cup Turf,” O’Brien said. “It would be good to see her in that, it’s a possible and obviously she has to go through her work and everything perfectly.”
Minnie Hauk is priced up at around 4-1 for the Turf at Del Mar on 1 November.
Alphonse Le Grande hoping to buck trend in Cesarewitch
Jumping yards in general, and Irish jumps stables in particular, have enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the Cesarewitch Handicap in recent seasons with nine wins in the past 11 runnings. Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Charles Byrnes and Tony Martin all have leading candidates for the latest renewal of the historic stayers’ handicap at Newmarket on Saturday.
Martin, who was serving a ban for a doping offence 12 months ago, is back on the licence as the trainer of last year’s winner, Alphonse Le Grande, who edged home by a nose, lost the race a few days later due for a whip offence by his jockey, and then got it back on appeal.
He would create another piece of Cesarewitch history if he could become the first horse to win twice for different trainers, but he is 4lb higher in the weights and there has been just one dual winner in the race’s 186-year history.
Mullins, who won three times in a row from 2018, has three live candidates headed by the lightly raced Bunting, but he is not obviously well handicapped off 95 and there is better each-way value elsewhere.
Elliott, by contrast, is still waiting for a Cesarewitch winner but he has decent contenders in Ndaawi and Mordor (3.40) and the latter looks overpriced at around 20-1.
The five-year-old ran well to finish eighth in the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham off 130 and an excellent second at Glorious Goodwood in August suggests he has a big run in him on Saturday off his Flat mark of 88.
Newmarket 1.15 Gladius 1.50 Allegresse 2.25 Pathein 3.00 Distant Storm (nb) 3.40 Mordor (nap) 4.15 Blue To Blue 4.50 Alfa Kellenic
York 1.30 Division 2.05 Erzindjan 2.40 He’s Waliim 3.15 Binhareer 3.55 Joulany 4.30 Ribble Vibe 5.05 I Still Have Faith
Chepstow 1.35 Ammes 2.10 My Friend Sean 2.45 Destroytheevidence 3.20 French Ship 4.00 Moutarde 4.35 Thistle Ask 5.10 Marlacoo
Hexham 1.55 We Got Your Back 2.30 At Vimeiro 3.05 Pismo Beach 3.45 Jupiter Des Mottes 4.20 Roger Pol 4.55 Easy Bucks 5.25 Hourman
Wolverhampton 4.10 Typeface 4.45 Shetakesthegold 5.20 Miss Ayala 5.50 Nala’s Dream 6.20 Hasiyna 6.50 Ever Driven 7.20 Schemeya 7.50 Basholo 8.20 Lhebayeb
Newmarket 1.15: Lightly raced Gladius is two-from-three at this unusual trip and ran well on his Group-race debut at York last time.
York 1.30: Division has progressed by the race since his debut in late August and looks more than ready for the step into Listed company.
Newmarket 1.50: There is plenty of stamina on the dam’s side of Allegresse’s pedigree and this marathon test by juvenile standards could see further improvement.
York 2.05: The draw did for Erzindjan in the Cambridgeshire last time but he was clear of the next horse home on his side and is just 1lb higher here.
Newmarket 2.25: Pathein’s defeat of the promising Lyneham on debut was franked by the runner-up’s victory next time and Ed Dunlop’s colt looks overpriced at around 12-1.
Newmarket 3.00: Zavateri and Gstaad top the ratings for the Dewhurst Stakes and are closely matched on their form when first and second in the National Stakes, but the progressive Distant Storm posted a very strong time when nearly five lengths clear of his field in a Group Three last month and could prove more than a match for them.
York 3.15: Binhareer suffered early interference last time but still finished within four lengths of the winner, has been dropped 1lb since and has a useful low draw.
