After making an amazing comeback at York last week, Bluestocking's likely next stop is the Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland.
Despite being winless, the three-year-old ran several good races. Camelot's daughter finished third in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, second in the Irish Oaks, fourth in the Yorkshire Oaks, and second again on Champions Day at Ascot in 2023.
While the Coronation Cup at Epsom was mentioned as a possible destination, Ralph Beckett's filly was not winning out of turn when she defeated her opponents in the Group Two Middleton Stakes on the Knavesmire. Instead, she is scheduled to be ready for a return to the Curragh on June 29.
“You’re always hoping with a filly like her that she’ll improve from three to four, that’s not a given but I think we all felt she was a weak filly last year that would improve, so it was nice to see that she did,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte. “She handled the drop back in trip and the better ground, I think it was an impressive display and I think we’ll stick against our sex for the time being, with the Pretty Polly being the most logical option at this moment in time. Later on in the season, we can venture into taking on the opposite sex, but at this point, I think we’ll try and win our Group One against our own sex and see how we go from there.”
He added: “We were just saying the other day, maybe in the Oaks and at Chester last year, maybe she wasn’t quite getting home over a mile and a half and maybe a mile and a quarter is her bale of hay. That will become evident as we go forward, but she was very effective over the mile and a quarter in York, so we’ll stick to it for the time being.”