By Sean Cronin
An interrupted preparation was a mitigating factor when Precise (Starspangledbanner) blotted her copybook in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, but the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine was in no mood for succumbing to outside influences as Ryan Moore got the selection right in Friday's G1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Moore was an embedded observer in seventh as True Love (No Nay Never) found glory at HQ and was aboard that stablemate when Precise gained redemption at the Curragh last month.
“She was a little bit slow away, but I thought Ryan did great on her and kept her out of trouble,” said O'Brien. “When she gets there, she just looks a little bit lazy, but when you do ask her, she really opens up. That is just her. Precise can do a lot of things, she can stay at a mile or she can step up in trip. I am grateful and thankful to everybody for getting her here and I am delighted.”
Reflecting on the performance of True Love, the trainer continued, “True Love ran a storming race and got trapped wide, which probably did not help her, but she ran a great race.”
Moore added, “Precise began a bit awkwardly, and I was a bit further back than I wanted to be, but I rode her to get there in front. She got into a beautiful rhythm. I was not really concerned about what position I was in, just keeping her going forward. She covered ground on the turn, but I knew she was going to stay well. She is the best filly, there was no need to complicate it, and she has done what she had to do. I would say 10 furlongs is within her compass, but she is good at a mile. There are plenty of good fillies in the yard, so I suppose we will get home, see what the others are doing and make a plan. It was not her fault she got beat first time up. She is a very good filly and beautifully trained.”
Precise went postward as the heavily-favoured 8-13 choice to provide Aidan O'Brien with a fourth Coronation, and 101st Royal winner, and raced in rear through the initial stages of the one-mile heat.
Sent forward into third rounding the home turn, she was clear of the subsequent carnage in behind when seizing control with a quarter-mile remaining and kept on powerfully under a forceful Moore drive to hit the line with a 1 1/2-length buffer.
Shadwell's TDN Rising Star Touleen (Lope De Vega) suffered most as several engaged in a barging contest when jostling for open lanes in the straight and finished strongly inside the final furlong to deny True Love by a neck for second nearing the line.
Owen Burrows was a tad conflicted in the aftermath and commented, “I would have been pleased if you had told me beforehand that we would finish second but, yes, she was a little bit unlucky. She has split two Guineas winners there and was unlucky in doing it. Her whole demeanour has been brilliant all day. It is a scorching hot day, but she has been very relaxed. I am not sure what is next, we will have a look at how she comes out of it. We put her in the [G1] Falmouth the other day, but I am not sure Newmarket is her place. I know it is the July Course, but this obviously suited her much better. We will see.”
Angus Gold added, “We thought Touleen was a very good filly and I think she has shown that today. She made up plenty of ground when she did get a run, it just would have been nice to see what would have happened if she had got one. She was fantastic beforehand. I thought she was the calmest of the lot in the paddock. She is growing up mentally and now she is showing she really does belong in that class, which I had not seen before personally. She got beaten in the Fred Darling and I was a bit like, 'okay, maybe we are not that good'. Then Newmarket did not work out and Saffie said she did not feel comfortable on those undulations. We hoped this track would suit her better and it definitely did. She has run a great race.”
Osborne did not pull any punches in the debrief and said, “I felt like I had a clean passage to follow Ryan and Wayne [Lordan] could see me going well and put me back in. Touleen is very brave, but she is not a very big filly and True Love is probably double her size, so it was not too hard for him to put me back in behind them. It's an amazing result to split the two [1000] Guineas winners, but frustrating in the manner that it happened. I switched out to follow Ryan turning in and I felt as though I was going to have a beautiful trip through. Then True Love loomed up on my outside and pushed me back in. It was frustrating considering the margin she was gaining at the line was ever diminishing. Again, a huge run, just frustrating in the manner that it happened. She has run a huge race and hopefully she will have a very exciting season.”
Fourth home Moon Target (Cracksman) was travelling smoothly at the top of the straight and ran on well to finish fourth, a neck behind True Love. Trainer Sir Mark Prescott said, “I think we are all very pleased with her and we are all slightly disappointed we did not scramble into third, but that is life. She ran very well. She could possibly go two furlongs further, maybe the [G1] Nassau or something. We will see what they [Cheveley Park Stud] think, they know the programme book pretty well.”
It's all PRECISE to take the G1 Coronation Stakes! ✨ #RoyalAscot
T: Aidan O'Brien
J: Ryan Moore pic.twitter.com/VdNzblX7l0— TDN (@theTDN) June 19, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Precise is the sixth of eight foals and leading performer from three winners out of full-sister to stakes-winning G1 Irish Derby and G1 Gold Cup runner-up Kingfisher, G3 Killavullan Stakes third Cocoon and G3 Gallinule Stakes third Finn McCool.
Her Listed Ruby Stakes-winning second dam Mystical Lady (Halling), who ran third in the G3 Solonaway Stakes, is kin to a trio of black-type winners headed by G3 Leopardstown 2000 Guineas Trial victor and G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains third Furner's Green (Dylan Thomas).
The G1 Moyglare, G1 Fillies' Mile and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner is a half-sister to the hitherto unraced two-year-old colt Raging Bull (Wootton Bassett) and a yearling filly by Wootton Bassett.
Friday, Royal Ascot, Britain
CORONATION STAKES-G1, £700,000, Ascot, 6-19, 3yo, f, 7f 213yT, 1:39.58, g/f.
1–PRECISE (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Starspangledbanner (Aus)
1st Dam: Way To My Heart (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mystical Lady (Ire), by Halling
3rd Dam: Lady Icarus (GB), by Rainbow Quest
O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; B-Whisperview Trading Ltd; T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £396,970. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Ire, 8-6-1-0, $1,608,492. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Touleen (GB), 128, f, 3, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Talaayeb (GB), by Dansili (GB). TDN Rising Star. 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd; T-Owen Burrows. £150,500.
3–True Love (Ire), 128, f, 3, No Nay Never–Alluringly, by Fastnet Rock (Aus). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Coolmore; T-Aidan O'Brien. £75,320.
Margins: 1HF, NK, NK. Odds: 0.62, 12.00, 2.50.
Also Ran: Moon Target (GB), Balantina (Ire), Sukanya (GB), Timeforshowcasing (GB), Black Caviar Gold (Ire), Rose Ghaiyyath (Ire).
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