France: Blue Bolt notches Prix Rothschild, will seek hat trick with Matron

Two down and one to go for Blue Bolt, the leading turf miler among fillies and mares in Europe this year.

On Sunday, Blue Bolt ($3) won the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville Racecourse in France, finishing a half-length in front of 2-1 Precise. They were first and second in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse at a mile in Britain on July 10.

After Sunday’s win, trainer Andrew Balding said Blue Bolt will be pointed to the Group 1 Matron Stakes at a mile at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland on Sept. 12.

No filly or mare has swept the three races since the Matron Stakes was first run in 1980. The last runner to win two of the races in the same year was Porta Fortuna, who won the Falmouth and Matron in 2024 as a 3-year-old. She did not start in the Prix Rothschild.

Blue Bolt was tested in Sunday’s $345,800 Prix Rothschild, run on a straightaway course. Ridden by Colin Keane for trainer Andrew Balding, Blue Bolt stalked pacesetter Moon Target, who led for the first six furlongs. Precise, ridden by Ryan Moore, took the lead with more than a furlong remaining while quickly facing a challenge from Blue Bolt, who races closest to the rail nearest the grandstand.

Blue Bolt caught Precise in the final sixteenth.

Balding was quick to praise Keane’s ride.

Keane “gave her a wonderful ride,” Balding said. “I was not feeling particularly confident while watching the race. I thought we were going to be beaten in the final 200 meters, but he judged her effort perfectly. It is fantastic.

“For a filly, she has tremendous physical power. That is undoubtedly her greatest asset. She also has an extraordinary will to fight, which helps enormously.”

Precise finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of 26-1 Moon Target in the field of eight. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Precise won two Group 1 races for 3-year-old fillies at a mile earlier this year – the Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh, and the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Blue Bolt, who is by Blue Point, has won 7 of 10 career starts, and is unbeaten in four races this year.

Blue Bolt won a minor stakes at Goodwood Racecourse on May 2, and the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17.

Blue Bolt won for the first time at the highest level in the Falmouth Stakes.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.