Betfred 1000 Guineas |
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| Group 1, Newmarket £525,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 1m, Class 1 |
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Venetian Sun, the filly who had danced unbeaten through her juvenile summer, saw her flawless record blemished in the Moyglare Stud Stakes—but not without a tale of misfortune that may yet set the stage for Classic redemption.
Karl Burke’s precocious daughter of Starman had swept through the Albany, dazzled in the Duchess of Cambridge, and conquered the continent in the Prix Morny. Four wins, three countries, and a rising reputation that had her poised for Group One glory at the Curragh. But stepping up to seven furlongs for the first time, fate played its hand with frustrating precision.
💥PRECISE WINS THE MOYGLARE STUD STAKES💥#ITVRacing | @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/KLWPiZcOx1
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) September 14, 2025
Hemmed in when it mattered most, her surge was stifled, her rhythm broken. By the time the gap came, Precise and Beautify had flown—leaving Venetian Sun to close with purpose but not proximity, finishing a gallant third, two and a half lengths adrift.
“I think the plan was to follow the favourite (Composing) through, which we did, but then we got blocked in and then the winner and the second both got first run on her,” explained Sean Graham, racing manager to Tony Bloom, who owns the filly in partnership with Ian McAleavy.
“But when she came out of the pocket and Clifford (Lee, jockey) gave her a smack, she really did accelerate and I thought she was finishing her race stronger than maybe the two in front of her, she just ran out of real estate.”
It was the kind of run that leaves connections with both frustration and hope. A performance that didn’t quite sparkle on the page but shimmered between the lines. And now, after a campaign that has tested and revealed, she’ll be given time to rest, reset, and ready herself for a tilt at the 1000 Guineas.
“That’s her final run for this year, she’ll be put away. We are pretty certain she stayed well, so I think the Guineas next year will be an early-season target,” Graham added.
“Because she’s a Group One winner at two, I’d be very surprised if we went for a trial because you have to carry a penalty, so it will probably be the Guineas.
“There are so many things that can happen over the winter, she has to be working well in the spring to justify running in the Guineas and it will be a case of the filly telling Karl whether she is ready or not to run.”
He added: “There’s a lot of boxes to tick, you’re not just going to rock up at the Guineas. Things have to go well between now and then for that to happen.”
Betfred 1000 Guineas Stakes
(British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£525,000 guaranteed,
entries
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