See The Fire wins Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Stakes 2026

Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Stakes

Group 2, York 15:30
£165,000 guaranteed,
Fillies, 4yo plus,
1m 2f 56y, Class 1

Thursday 14th May 2026

1 See The Fire 5/6F
2 Red Letter 6/1
3 Diamond Rain 3/1
4 ran NR: Fairy Glen Distances: ¾l, 1¼l, 2½l
Time: 2m 17.82s (slow by 9.52s)

Won the race last year ✅
Won it again this year ✅

She's a TOP filly 🔥🔥🔥

🎬 @itvracing pic.twitter.com/efgJmD1A57 https://t.co/NJ1Mq8s5oS
— The Winners Enclosure (@TWEnclosure) May 14, 2026

See The Fire became the first dual winner of the after successfully defending her crown in impressive style.

Andrew Balding’s five-year-old had routed her rivals by 12 lengths in last year’s renewal and was sent off the 5-6 favourite to repeat the feat after making a winning reappearance in the Nottinghamshire Oaks last month.

Fallen Angel set only a modest gallop in the early stages, with Oisin Murphy keen to restrain the defending champion, who travelled smoothly in the slipstream of Karl Burke’s multiple Group One winner.

The race began to develop approaching the straight and while Charlie Appleby’s Diamond Rain briefly looked to have stolen a march along the rail, See The Fire produced a smart turn of foot to sweep past and score by three-quarters of a length.

Ger Lyons’ Red Letter stayed on for second, while Diamond Rain faded into third.

A tilt at the Coronation Cup at Epsom now appears the likely next target for the progressive mare.

Anna Lisa Balding, representing her husband, said: “Keeping her in training has proved such a brilliant decision because she’s a lovely filly to have around and I think she’s the first filly to win the Middleton twice.

“I saw the first couple of furlongs were run very slowly, but Oisin got off her and said she’s an absolute machine. He said he always felt he was going to win, so we’re delighted.

“She obviously won the race very impressively last year and you never know if they’ll come back and do it again, but she’s been working beautifully at home.

“She’s not the easiest filly to train, so it’s a huge credit to the team at Kingsclere.

“She holds an entry in the Coronation Cup and who knows where she could end up, but hopefully there’s a big season ahead of her.

“It’s often owner Jeff Smith who decides where they go, so fingers crossed there’s another big prize in her.”

Barry Mahon, racing manager for Juddmonte, said of Red Letter: “That was a step forward, but as Colin said, it turned into a bit of a five-furlong sprint which probably didn’t suit her.

“She’s a very good filly and we’re delighted with that. We’ll look through the programme book now and decide where to go next.

“A mile or 10 furlongs looks ideal for her. There’s the Duke of Cambridge at Ascot, but we also have Blue Bolt for that race, so it’s unlikely we’d run both.”

Appleby was pleased with the effort of Diamond Rain and hinted that another trip to America could be on the agenda.

He said: “I’m very pleased. As you can see, she’s a big filly, so you’d rather race her fit than gallop her fit at home.

“Her campaign is geared more towards the middle and latter part of the summer. We’ll probably work back from something in America, but I’d love to win a European Group One with her if we can find the right target.

“We know she handles America well, so that route definitely remains an option.”

Burke was also satisfied with the reappearance effort of Fallen Angel ahead of Royal Ascot.

He said: “We wanted to get a run into her before Ascot, but she’ll only go there if the ground is good or slower. We were desperate to get a prep run into her and the weather worked in our favour.

“She’s run very well and, looking back, we could probably have gone a bit quicker and made it more of a stamina test because she stayed on strongly in the final furlong.

“I still think she’ll stay a mile and a quarter, but she probably wasn’t fit enough to prove it today. This should bring her right on.

“She’ll head for the Group Two at Ascot and all those top mile races for fillies. I wouldn’t rule out another try at 10 furlongs later in the season depending on the ground. She’ll be entered in all the major Group Ones and we’re very satisfied.”