Betfred 1000 Guineas |
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| Group 1, Newmarket £525,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 1m, Class 1  |
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1 True Love 5/1
2
Evolutionist 16/1
3
Venetian Lace 33/1
19 ran Distances: 1¾l, ½l, 1¼l
Time: 1m 35.14s (fast by 0.96s)
🗣"The key was she relaxed early"
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) May 3, 2026
The team look back on True Love's win in the Guineas!#ITVRacing pic.twitter.com/35YOtGPQ6M
True Love produced a performance of both class and stamina to deny her stablemate Precise and provide Aidan O’Brien with an eighth victory in the Classic.
Precise, winner of the Fillies’ Mile over course and distance at two, was sent off the 9/5 favourite under Ryan Moore despite an interrupted preparation, while True Love – a Group One winner herself in the Cheveley Park Stakes – arrived race-fit following a recent Leopardstown success and was returned at 5/1 in the hands of Wayne Lordan.
Drawn on opposite sides of the track, the Ballydoyle pair took different routes, with Precise racing towards the far side and True Love travelling strongly among the stands’ side group.
As the race developed, True Love’s momentum proved decisive. Although she edged across late on, she maintained her advantage to the line, staying on strongly over the mile to secure a one-and-three-quarter-length success. Evolutionist filled the runner-up spot, with Venetian Lace third, while Precise weakened in the closing stages.
O’Brien said: “You couldn’t be sure she was going to get a mile, she’s a Queen Mary winner and it’s very unusual for a Queen Mary winner to get a mile.
“Wayne gave her a beautiful ride. I ran her in the wrong race in America, I didn’t want to run her against Precise in the mile (she ended up being a non-runner) so I ran her in the (Turf) Sprint and that wasn’t fair to her – she got drawn very badly and that was it.
“When she was able to run over seven furlongs in Leopardstown on soft ground and got no cover, I always thought there was chance she could get it.
“She’s amazing, a big, powerful filly. She’s very relaxed in all her work, so there was always a chance she’d get the mile.
“This place, more than any other track in the world, is very unforgiving. There’s nowhere to hide, it’s open and the pace is usually on.
“I couldn’t be happier. She’d had no bother going back in distance but I’d imagine she’d stay at a mile now, she’d have the Irish Guineas and the Coronation – all those big fillies’ races.”
He added: “You wouldn’t go any further, no way. We have some nice sprint colts so I think the right thing to do would be to stay at a mile with her.
“She’s very classy. Wayne said he was going a half-speed down past the two (furlong marker) on her, all he wanted to do was wait and he was exceptional on her.”
Reflecting on the favourite, he said: “I was very happy with both fillies, we knew Precise was away a month ago but she had a very easy bit of work because she had a temperature a month or two ago.
“That meant we didn’t get to do what we wanted so there was always going to be a danger that it would catch her out a little bit and I think she just got a bit tired.”
Betfred 1000 Guineas Stakes
(British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£525,000 guaranteed,
19 ran
Going: Good to Firm
