Blue Bolt confirms superiority over Precise at Deauville Blue Bolt continued her faultless campaign with victory in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville. Runner-up to Fallen Angel in the Sun Chariot at Newmarket at the end of last season, Andrew Balding’s filly has taken her game to another level this term with a comeback win in Listed company at Goodwood followed by big-race triumphs in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Falmouth at Newmarket. The four-year-old was renewing rivalry with the July course runner-up, Aidan O’Brien’s Irish 1,000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes heroine Precise, and at one stage it looked like the latter may take her revenge in the hands of Ryan Moore. But Blue Bolt was doing her best work at the finish under Colin Keane and lunged late to claim a seventh win from 10 career starts, with Sir Mark Prescott’s Coronation Stakes fourth Moon Target bettering that result with a fine effort to finish third. Balding Delighted With Late Deauville Surge Balding told Sky Sports Racing: “She’s some filly, she really is — and Colin gave her a wonderful ride. It wasn’t very comfortable watching it, I thought we were beat in the last furlong, but he’s judged it to perfection. “She’s got great physical strength for a filly, that’s her biggest quality, and she’s got great desire as well. A big thank you to the team at home and Alfie Redman who rides her every day. She’s not easy and likes to take control of things, but he’s really mastered her this last six months and done a great job of it. “She likes to get on with it, she’s a powerful traveller and knows her strength, so it’s about harnessing that in the right direction.” Blue Bolt now looks set to bid for further Group One success in Ireland, with her trainer adding: “The great thing about her is she’s effective on any ground, which is a big help. “We always felt the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown (September 12) was her race this year and we won’t lose sight of that for anything prior to that.” Classic Winners Set For Distance Adjustments Of Precise, O’Brien said: “I am very pleased with her. In the Falmouth Stakes, Blue Bolt beat her by two lengths, whereas today she finished only half a length behind, despite the weight conditions being less favourable to her. She therefore ran very well. “She may step up in distance on her next start; we will see whether that is necessary. Her future programme has not yet been decided, and we will take some time to consider it.” Connections of Moon Target were rightly thrilled with her run, with Chris Richardson, managing director of Cheveley Park Stud, saying: “We are delighted with this third place. The plan was to go to the front, as there was no obvious pacemaker in the race. It therefore seemed logical to try to control the race from the lead at a steady pace and make the others come and catch us. “Obviously, the winner was very impressive. Precise finished second, confirming the pecking order we have seen since the beginning of the year. Last year, our filly finished second to Precise in the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood. In the Coronation Stakes, those two fillies also finished ahead of us when we took fourth place. We felt that we had been a little unlucky at Ascot. “I think we will probably keep her over a mile. Some of these very good fillies are going into battle race after race. Our filly was a little fresher, and we will try to keep her that way. She needs time between her races. “We learned that last year, when we ran her again too quickly. This year, we will space out her races more carefully. We will therefore see how she recovers from this run.”
