Bluestocking Socks It to Longchamp Rivals with 2024 Arc Victory

There may have been a few notable absentees from the 2024 edition of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – most notably City Of Troy, Economics, and Auguste Rodin, whilst Goliath and Calandagan missed out due to their gelding status. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as a bad Arc, and the latest instalment was stacked with intriguing contenders.

Included amongst the final field of 16 were this year’s winners of the Irish Derby, the Prix du Jockey Club, the Grand Prix de Paris, the Grosser Preis von Baden, the Grosser Preis von Berlin, and the Prix Jean Romanet, in addition to the 2023 St Leger champ and a Japanese-trained full brother to 2019 Arc winner Sottsass. All came and laid down their challenge – all were vanquished by one the toughest and most likeable fillies in training.

Bridesmaid Tag Consigned to the History Books

Rewind to 2023, and it would have been hard to imagine Ralph Beckett’s filly Bluestocking conquering the continent. As well as she ran, the daughter of Camelot kept hitting the crossbar in Group contests. Second by half a length in the Irish Oaks, she then went down by just a neck in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mare Stakes – those efforts being the highlights of a winless season which also included two seconds in Listed company, a third at Group 2 level, and a fourth in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks.

Bluestocking’s 3YO Campaign

Date Race Position
20th May ’23 Haras De Bouquetot Trial Second
22nd Jun ’23 Ribblesdale Stakes Third
22nd Jul ’23 Irish Oaks Second
24th Aug ’23 Yorkshire Oaks Fourth
16th Sep ’23 Stand Cup Second
21st Oct ’23 British Champions Fillies & Mares Second

However, 2024 has proved to be an altogether different story. Kicking off with a six-length rout in the Group 2 Middleton Fillies’ Stakes, she followed up with a first career Group 1 in the Pretty Polly stakes at the Curragh. Defeats followed against the colts in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Juddmonte International, but she finished as the best of the rest behind Goliath at Ascot and ran well to finish fourth over a trip too short and on ground too quick at York.

Back against her own sex in the Prix Vermeille over the Arc course and distance in September, she doubled her Group 1 tally when posting the quickest time of the three headline events on Trials Day. Too good for the fillies at the highest level – could she do it against the boys? You bet she could.

Bluestocking’s 4YO Campaign

Date Race Position
16th May ’24 Middleton Fillies’ Stakes Winner
29th Jun ’24 Pretty Polly Stakes Winner
27th Jul ’24 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes Second
21st Aug ’24 Juddmonte International Fourth
15th Sept ’24 Prix Vermeille Winner
6th Oct ’24 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Winner

With the ground in her favour and benefiting from a low draw in stall 3, Rossa Ryan settled his mount just behind the pacesetting Los Angeles. Content to wait until the straight before making his move, Ryan received a willing response from his partner to quickly move past the brave O’Brien runner – opening up a length advantage which never looked like being erased, despite the best efforts of fellow filly Aventure, who filled the runners up position, just as she had in the Prix Vermeille.

Beckett in the Big Time Once Again

With two wins in the Epsom Oaks, one in the St Leger, and one apiece in the Irish Derby and the Irish Oaks, Ralph Beckett is no stranger to big race success. But this victory will likely top them all. Having come close in 2023, when saddling Westover to finish a gallant second to the exceptional Ace Impact, Beckett must have begun to wonder if this prize would forever elude him. Little did the Hampshire handler know that he need only wait 12 months to go one better.

Not that Beckett was hugely confident before the event; the trainer summed up his pre-race feelings and paid tribute to this tough and talented filly when stating, “I thought she would run well, but I never thought it would happen. She has been going hard at it all year. I’ve never trained a filly with her constitution. We’ve had some nice ones, but not with her constitution. For her to have developed through this year as she has is just extraordinary.”

Horse of Lifetime for Rossa Ryan

Whilst Beckett arrived with five Classic wins on his CV and an impressive cast of former stars, it is hard to overstate the impact Bluestocking has had on the career of 24-year-old rider Rossa Ryan. Before teaming up with what must be, by some distance, his favourite horse, Ryan had only a solitary Group 1 success to his name. Thanks to Bluestocking’s sensational top-level hat trick in 2024, he now has four.

Ryan deserves immense credit for repeating his Prix Vermaille tactics in the pressure cooker environment of an Arc, but the importance of Bluestocking to his burgeoning career wasn’t lost on the rider, who stated in the aftermath, “A horse can really change your life and she has mine. It’s all down to her trainer and the team at home. They’ve made my dreams come true. To do it on a global stage is what it’s all about.”

Record Breaking Result for Juddmonte

For owners Juddmonte, this represented a truly historic result. Founded by the late Khalid Abdullah and represented by some of the most famous silks in the game, Juddmonte entered 2024 tied with Marcel Boussac as the most successful owner in Arc history.

Khalid Abdullah & Juddmonte Farms Arc Wins

Year Horse Trainer
2024 Bluestocking Ralph Beckett
2018 Enable John Gosden
2017 Enable John Gosden
2010 Workforce Sir Michael Stoute
2006 Rail Link André Fabre
1986 Dancing Brave Guy Harwood
1985 Rainbow Quest Jeremy Tree

In the aftermath of Bluestocking’s outing in the Juddmonte International, it seemed unlikely the owners would add to their record in 2024. Following that fourth to City Of Troy by just over eight lengths, Juddmonte manager Barry Mahon stated, “This was to find out if she was up to an Arc, but we found out she’s a very good filly, who’s better sticking to her own sex.”

Happily, her performance in the Prix Vermeille sparked a change of heart, with Juddmonte stumping up the considerable £120,000 late supplementary entry fee to allow their star filly to take her place in the lineup.

And the rest is history, as Bluestocking rewarded her owner’s faith with £2,484,347.83 in prize money, as she takes her place amongst previous Juddmonte Arc winners Rainbow Quest (1985), Dancing Brave (1986), Rail Link (2006), Workforce (2010), and Enable (2017,2018). That’s top-class company for a top-class filly!