Veracious gets first Group 1 win in Falmouth Stakes

Veracious won her first Group 1 race in her fourth try in Friday’s $250,000 Falmouth Stakes at a mile for fillies and mares at Newmarket Racecourse in England.

A 4-year-old, Veracious (6-1) was at the front under jockey Oisin Murphy throughout the straightaway course and held off a late threat from 10-3 One Master to win by a neck. I Can Fly, the 5-2 favorite, finished third in the field of six, beaten three lengths.

One Master was fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs last November and won the Group 1 Prix de la Foret at seven furlongs against males at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris last October. I Can Fly was 12th in the BC Mile.

In the Falmouth Stakes, Veracious ended a four-race losing streak since the Group 3 Atalanta Stakes at Sandown Park last September. In previous starts in Group 1 races, Veracious’s best results were third-place finishes in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood in 2018.

Earlier this year, Veracious was fourth in the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket in May, third in the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on June 1, and fourth in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19.

Trained by Michael Stoute for Cheveley Park Stud, Veracious, by Frankel, has won 3 of 10 starts.

The Falmouth Stakes was the first of two Group 1 races during the three-day July meeting at Newmarket. The main race on Saturday’s final day of the meeting is the Group 1 July Cup at six furlongs.