By Sean Cronin
Coolmore's G3 Prestige Stakes and G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) added to her impressive palmares with a stunning performance in Friday's G1 bet365 Fillies' Mile, dominating the latter stages to register a 22nd Group 1 success of the season, and a record seventh renewal, for Aidan O'Brien.
“She impressed me when she won at the Curragh and I knew she had a good turn of foot,” commented Christophe Soumillon. “She was a little bit nervous in the stalls and that's why she missed the jump. I was hoping to be a little bit closer, but she cruised the whole way. I didn't want to come there too soon and I think I still got there too soon. She's a really nice filly and she'll handle the mile easily next year.”
Soumillon, stepping in for a fifth elite-level triumph after replacing the injured Ryan Moore as Ballydoyle's go-to jockey, guided the 5-4 favourite towards the stands' side after breaking in rear from a far-side stall and employed patient tactics through halfway.
Cruising closer once leaving the three-furlong pole in the rear-view mirror, Precise quickened in stylish fashion to seize control approaching the final furlong and powered clear impressively on the climb to easily overpower the pacesetting Venetian Lace (Masar) by a geared-down 3 1/4 lengths. Evolutionist (Night Of Thunder) fared best of the remainder and finished one length further adrift in third.
“She looks serious and it reminded me of Minding, she was impressive and it was incredible really,” the winning trainer beamed. “She's doing everything so easy and Christophe was left in front a lot longer than he would have liked, but he was brilliant on her. She's a total natural athlete so you never do too much at home with her, but these races like this and the [G1 Prix Marcel] Boussac, you like to see them in these so you know what you have and you're not kidding yourself going into next year. We always hoped she would be a Classic filly and here in Newmarket there is nowhere to hide. 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 furlong pole it was over.”
Indicating a tilt at the Breeders' Cup is off the agenda, O'Brien added, “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. I'd say we will put her away, she looks like she could be anything and we'll train her for the Classics. The sky is the limit for her.”
Charlie Johnston was delighted with the display of runner-up Venetian Lace and commented, “I thought we had gone quite hard early, so I knew it would be difficult to maintain those fractions. One by one they were coming under pressure and she still had more to give. Fair play to the winner, she's clearly a very good filly, but I'm delighted with ours. We went straight into the Chesham from her maiden and she's been in Group company since then. Sometimes you look when you are the outsider and think 'why am I even running?' but I never had that feeling with her, I always had confidence that she belongs in these races. I thought we'd be in the first four and I'm not surprised to see her finish second. That will be it for the year now I think. Looking at her pedigree, I was always thinking of the [G1] Oaks for her. She's not slow and after that I think we'll be back here in May [for the G1 1000 Guineas].”
😍
PRECISE wins the @bet365 Fillies' Mile 🏆@NewmarketRace | @coolmorestud pic.twitter.com/gat5Ea3okW
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 10, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Precise is the sixth of eight foals and the 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 May-foaled chestnut is kin to a yearling colt and a weanling filly by Wootton Bassett.
Friday, Newmarket, Britain
BET365 FILLIES' MILE-G1, £528,750, Newmarket, 10-10, 2yo, f, 8fT, 1:35.46, gd.
1–PRECISE (IRE), 128, f, 2, 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-Christophe Soumillon. £299,854. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire, 5-4-1-0, $753,631. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Venetian Lace (Ire), 128, f, 2, Masar (Ire)–Nash Nasha (GB), by Dubawi (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Godolphin; T-Charlie Johnston. £113,681.
3–Evolutionist (Ire), 128, f, 2, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Model Guest (GB), by Showcasing (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€600,000 Ylg '24 GOFORY). O-Yuesheng Zhang; B-Gigginstown House; T-Karl Burke. £56,894.
Margins: 3 1/4, 1, NK. Odds: 1.25, 40.00, 18.00.
Also Ran: Legacy Link (GB), Moments Of Joy, Composing (Ire), Dance To The Music (GB), Moon Target (GB), Sugar Island (Ire), Amora Queen (Ger). Scratched: Queen Of Hawaii (Ire).
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