Precise (5/4 favourite) gave Aidan O’Brien a 22nd Group 1 success of 2025 when winning the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket on Friday.
A last start winner of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes over seven furlongs at The Curragh, the Ballydoyle filly was stepping up to the mile first time at Newmarket.
Partnered by Christophe Soumillon, the two-year-old Starspanglebanner filly was settled towards the rear of the 10-strong field. She began to make significant headway quarter of a mile from home. Taking the leading approaching the final furlong, Precise quickened right away for a very comfortable three and a quarter length success over 40/1 chance Venetian Lace.
Seventh win in Fillies’ Mile
Aidan O’Brien, who previously won the race with Sunspangled (1998), Listen (2007), Together Forever (2014), Minding (2015), Rhododendron (2016) and Ylang Ylang (2023), said of his seventh winner Precise:
“She is incredible really. There are so many people involved with her and every week she has got better.
“We ran her over six the first day and Wayne (Lordan) said she just drifted out in front and other than that she would have won. She would be unbeaten otherwise and when you see a filly like her do that over six on a sharp track like Fairyhouse you know they are very special.
“On her pedigree she is out of a very good Galileo mare and will stay. I think she is a Classic filly. We saw today she got the mile on her ear and Christophe was super confident on her. She cantered at all stages through the race and Christophe said if he knew her better he would have waited longer but she got there.
Bred by Aidan O’Brien’s Whisperview Trading, Precise is the first stakes-winner among three winners from placed Galileo mare Way to My Heart, a sister to stakes-winner Kingfisher from stakes-winner Mystical Lady.
The master of Ballydoyle is closing in on his own world record of 28 Group/Grade One winners in a calendar year, which he set in 2017.
