Following on from the international showstoppers of the Breeders’ Cup Meeting and Melbourne Cup Carnival, few highlights remain for flat fans in 2024 as the focus switches firmly to the National Hunt arm of the sport. Plenty to look forward to as the jumping stars return, but also many brilliant memories from the season just gone. City Of Troy, Charyn, and Kyprios vie for the top spot amongst the colts, but way out on her own as the star filly of the season is Ralph Beckett’s late-blooming Bluestocking.
Last week brought the news that the Juddmonte filly will make no new memories at the track as she follows in the hoofprints of Britain’s previous Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning filly, Alpinista, by heading into retirement on the back of her Longchamp heroics. Hopefully, a long and happy retirement lies ahead for this tough and talented superstar, and here we look back at a career which exploded from promising to spectacular during her final year at the track.
Two-Year-Old Season: Brief But Perfect
Sired by 2000 Guineas and Derby winner Camelot and out of the Group 1 winning dam Emulous, Bluestocking looked the part on paper, leading to much anticipation ahead of her racecourse bow at Salisbury in September 2022. Odds of 9/1 for that Class 4 Novice event suggested that not too much was expected on debut, but Bluestocking proved to be a class apart, storming home once in the clear to score by an easy 1½l. And that was that for her juvenile campaign, but given her stellar pedigree and impressive first effort, surely bigger targets lay ahead at three.
Byerley Stud British EBF Novice Stakes (29th Sept 2022)
| Position | Horse (Odds) | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Bluestocking (9/1) | £5,130 |
| 2nd | Tony Montana (3/1 Fav) | £2,408 |
| 3rd | Racingbreaks Ryder (10/3) | £1,205 |
Classic Campaign: Always the Bridesmaid…
Making her return in the Listed Oaks Trial at Newbury, Bluestocking built on her debut effort when finishing strongly to go down by just a head to the Aidan O’Brien-trained Warm Heart. Stepping up from 1m2f to 1m4f, she was fancied to go well next time in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes but enjoyed no luck in running on her way to a third-place finish – with Warm Heart again grabbing the top spot.
Next came her shot at Classic glory as she took her place in the 2023 Irish Oaks field – and for a while, she looked like winning. Hitting the front with only half a furlong to go, she was agonisingly worn down by the relentless Savethelastdance – an Aidan O’Brien filly once again proving to be her nemesis. That theme continued when fourth behind Warm Heart in the Yorkshire Oaks, whilst only the gelding Al Qareem proved too good in the Listed Stand Cup Stakes at Chester.
A season of frustration so far, but she had one last shot at a Group 1 triumph in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot. This time, Bluestocking mastered the two O’Brien fillies in the field but couldn’t quite get to the 22/1 shock winner, Poptronic, who clung on to score by a neck.
Bluestocking’s Record as a Three-Year-Old
| Wins | Places | Unplaced | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 5 | 1 | £276,460 |
Six starts, four runners-up finishes – including two narrow defeats in Group 1 company – Bluestocking scored top marks for consistency, but would she ever get her nose in front?
Back for More at Four: …and Then the Bride
Connections didn’t have to wait long for the answer to that question at four. Returning from her winter break in the Group 2 Middleton Stakes, the mount of Rossa Ryan was only second best in the market but streets ahead on the track as she scored by an effortless six lengths. Was she finally ready to claim that elusive Group 1?
The fourth time proved to be the charm as Bluestocking headed to Ireland for the Pretty Polly Stakes, with the multiple Group 1 winner Emily Upjohn and the highly regarded Content from the Aidan O’Brien operation lying in wait amongst the opposition. When Emily Upjohn hit the front inside the final furlong, it appeared that Bluestocking may be booked for yet another runner-up finishers, but, this time, she would not be denied – staying on determinedly to run down her rival in the final 50 yards. Whatever else she achieved at four, the decision to keep her in training had already been vindicated, but the season’s biggest prizes were now in her sights.
Her next stop took her to Ascot for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes. In a similar result to the Fillies & Mares event on Champions Day, Bluestocking mastered all of the fancied runners – including Auguste Rodin, Rebel’s Romance, and Luxembourg – but found a fly in the ointment in the shape of 25/1 French raider Goliath, who improbably won in a canter. Sticking to Group 1 open company in the Juddmonte International on her next outing, a slightly deflating fourth-placed finish prompted connections to suggest that she may be best off racing against her own sex. Little did they know that her finest hour was still to come.
Fantastic in France
Sticking to the plan of racing only against fillies and mares, Bluestocking headed to Longchamp on Trials Day to tackle the Prix Vermeille and a crack field of British, Irish, and French fillies. Sent off as the 27/10F, Bluestocking showed her tenacious side to outduel Aventure in the closing stages. An impressive display on paper, and with the Vermeille emerging as the quickest of the three major trials, connections surely had little choice but to go for the big one.
And, of course, they did. Rain in the lead-up to Arc day turned the ground in her favour, but the now triple Group 1 winner still had to worry about a field which included Classic winners Los Angeles and Look De Vega and no fewer than 12 colts. What followed will live in the memory of Beckett, Ryan, and connections forever, as Bluestocking saved the best till last.
Stalking the pacesetting Los Angeles throughout, she responded brilliantly in the straight – kicking 1½l clear and never looking likely to be reeled in for a spectacular finale to a wonderful career.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe 2024 Result
| Horse (Odds) | Trainer | Jockey | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Bluestocking (11/2) | Ralph Beckett | Rossa Ryan |
| Second | Aventure (89/10) | Christophe Ferland | Stephane Pasquier |
| Third | Los Angeles (71/10) | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore |
