Camelot Filly Eyes Group 1 Targets After Impressive Group 2 Win

Ralph Beckett is hopeful of conquering Group 1 level with Bluestocking (4f Camelot – Emulous, by Dansili) after she ran out an impressive winner of the Group 2 Middleton Fillies’ Stakes at York on Thursday.

The Juddmonte homebred finished a close second in both the Group 1 Irish Oaks and Group 1 Fillies & Mares Stakes last season, and dropped back to ten furlongs on her seasonal return. Ridden to track the leaders by Rossa Ryan, she travelled strongly in second with two furlongs left to race and was pushed along to lead approaching the final furlong. Soon clear, she ran on well to score by six lengths, while multiple Group winner and 2023 heroine Free Wind (Galileo) took third.

“You hope Group 1’s are around the corner,” said the winning trainer. “We've had a better spring this time and hopefully we'll go through the year better because of it. She's in just about everything and one of them will fit. “

Thursday marked a deserved maiden black-type win for the daughter of Camelot, who placed in five Stakes races last season, as well as finishing a fine fourth in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks.