Billy Loughnane and George Boughey enjoy the moment with Soprano

George Boughey has outlined plans for his team who ran at Royal Ascot

By Josh Luckhurst

11:45 · TUE July 02, 2024

George Boughey is confident the Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh could be Believing’s “opportunity for her to be the shortest price in a Group One” later this season.

June was a productive month for the four-year-old filly as she returned to the winner’s enclosure in the Achilles Stakes at Haydock before making two appearances at Royal Ascot within four days, finishing fourth on both occasions in the King Charles III Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.

This came on the back of her finishing down the field in the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize in Hong Kong on her seasonal appearance in April and Boughey believes his confidence in the daughter of Mehmas was well placed following her three subsequent starts.

The Newmarket handler admitted he had harboured ideas of heading for the Irish Group One before the current campaign began and those plans still remain in place.

Believing is set to travel across the Irish Sea for the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes later this month before starting in the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood in August, with the Flying Five Stakes at the top of the agenda on September 15.

“Thrilled with her, she’s a filly who probably needs it to go all her way at the top level, but she is a filly who can ply her trade at the top level,” Boughey said. “I was delighted with her, she’s an incredibly tough, resilient animal to have come back from a pretty resounding defeat in Hong Kong and bounce back in the style that she did at Haydock. I was pretty confident going into Ascot that she was going to run a bold race, and she did twice.

“She’s the dream mare at the end of her career. She’s incredibly robust, sound minded, sound physically and she’s got a big year ahead of her. She’s had a quiet week, 10 days, out in the paddock at the moment and we are looking forward to getting her back in, in the next couple of days.

“In an ideal world, I think a stiff five (furlongs) or an easy six is what she wants. Danny (Tudhope) was pleased with her on the Saturday (at Royal Ascot), but he felt it just slightly stretched her late on, so the stiff five at the Curragh might just be the ticket for her.

“The Flying Five stood out to me as the opportunity for her to be the shortest price in a Group One this season. She’s shown versatility, winning at Haydock over five and then at Ascot over six. She will probably go to the Curragh and for her pedigree, it’s trying to make her a Group Two winner. She is taking a drop in grade, she takes her racing very well. She could feasibly do the Curragh and Goodwood. The Nunthorpe is probably unlikely, but then Flying Five. We’ll see, but she’s in good shape and flying the flag at the highest level.”

Soprano wins the Sandringham Stakes

Saffron House celebrated a winner at the Royal meeting in the form of Soprano, the three-year-old filly who won the Sandringham Stakes by half a length ahead of Strutting. She could tackle the Coral Distaff at Sandown on Saturday in her bid to make it back-to-back victories before returning to Pattern company this summer.

“She was impressive. It’s not lost on me how much work has gone into this horse,” Boughey said. “Charles Eddery, who rides her every day, an apprentice himself, has done a super job with her. She was deceptive, I kind of thought she was a sprinter for a long time because of how she trained at home and how she was a bit free on the track, but her pedigree would suggest she’s a miler.

“She’s out of a sister to a Breeders’ Cup Mile winner and she’s got a bit of length to her and doesn’t look like a sprinter. I think I told the owners in the paddock after the Albany that we will never see her run over six furlongs again, less than a month later I’m still running her at six furlongs.

“It’s nice when it comes together like that, and for (owners) Highclere, it really is their showpiece event of the year – it is for everyone, but none more so than them. She’s actually just had an entry in the Listed race at Sandown this week. She’s come out of the race in fantastic form, arguably in better form than she was going into it (Royal Ascot).

“Really thriving and a filly that really took her racing well at two, she’s continuing to do so at three. It’s a step back into stakes company, but she looked like she was the top rated and we will certainly consider it through the week.”

Pentle Bay was the best of the rest in the Chesham Stakes as Bedtime Story blitzed the field by nine and a half lengths in one of the most destructive performances of Royal Ascot. Boughey revealed the star two-year-old colt may not be on British shores for much longer, although he still has targets for the son of New Bay before relocating to Australia.

He said: “Pentle Bay was super. Obviously bumped into an outstanding filly in Bedtime Story, he’s still a baby and it was very much the plan to ride him to hit the line like he did. I think Ciaron Maher and Teme Valley are going to have a lovely horse going forward.

“He’s not finished with us yet, but he will be heading down to Australia at some point and a race like the Vintage (Stakes at Goodwood) is a possibility for him. He’s come out of the race in great shape and we will be persisting with stakes company. At some point at the end of the year I would imagine, unless he really leaps forward and proves he can be a top force here, his future will probably lie in Australia.”

Boughey also enjoyed place honours in the King George V Stakes with Fouroneohfever, who finished fourth, and the three-year-old is in line for a swift return to the track in either the bet365 Handicap at Haydock or the Coral Daily Rewards Shaker Handicap at Sandown on Saturday.

“Fouroneohfever ran a massive race. He was fourth in the King George V, he might well run again this weekend, he has a couple of entries,” Boughey added. “He’s a big, raw animal, he’s improving all the time, by Too Darn Hot. He could run on Saturday at Sandown or at Haydock, he’s come out of the race in super shape.”

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