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Falmouth Stakes preview: leading trainers chat to Tattersalls
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 9 Jul 2026
Aidan O'Brien's Precise heads a high-class field of seven for Friday's Group 1 Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.
The daughter of Starspangledbanner bids to add a fifth Group 1 success to her outstanding record, having captured both the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. She is joined by stablemate Venosa, who is expected to make the running as she continues her search for a first career victory.
Donnacha O'Brien, who won this contest in 2024 with Porta Fortuna, returns with Breeders' Cup heroine Balantina, who claimed Grade 1 honours in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar last season.
"I think she'll run a big race" - Donnacha O'Brien on Balantina
Balantina made her seasonal return in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, finishing three-and-a-half lengths behind Precise, and is expected to strip fitter for that first outing of the year.
Donnacha O'Brien told Tattersalls: "Balantina is in good form, and everything has gone to plan since Ascot. We think she has improved a decent amount since that run. The track and trip should suit her at Newmarket, so we're looking forward to it and think she'll run a big race."
Andrew Balding saddles the Juddmonte-owned Blue Bolt (pictured below), who boasts a flawless two-from-two record this season. She arrives on the back of victory in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot and steps back into Group 1 company in excellent form.
Andrew Balding told Tattersalls: "We've been very happy with Blue Bolt since Ascot. We were delighted with her performance there and she also ran very well on the Rowley Mile at the back end of last year. I don't think the track will be a problem for her and she seems in great form, but it's obviously a strong Group 1, as it should be. We're just keeping everything crossed that she can perform to the same level she did at Ascot."
Karl Burke's Evolutionist is another leading contender. A winner over the Falmouth Stakes course and distance as a juvenile, the daughter of Night Of Thunder returned with victory in the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte before finishing an excellent second to True Love in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.
She failed to reproduce that form in the Prix de Diane last time, but connections believe there were legitimate excuses for the below-par performance and are confident she can bounce back.
Karl Burke told Tattersalls: "Evolutionist is in great form and I'm looking forward to seeing her run. She's a winner on the track and she didn't really seem to stay or fire when we went to France last time, although she did show she was in season before the race, so that's probably a genuine excuse. She looks to be getting stronger all the time and I'm expecting her to run a big race in what is obviously a hot contest."
The retained rider for Ace Stud, Shane Foley added: "We're really looking forward to getting her back on track. She has proven form at Newmarket, and I'd put a line through her last run in France because things just didn't go right. She was in season that day, so we're hopeful of a much better performance."
Charlie Johnston's Venetian Lace finished third behind Evolutionist in the 1,000 Guineas and also has strong Group 1 form alongside Friday's favourite, having chased home Precise in last season's Fillies' Mile. She was last seen in the Oaks at Epsom, where testing ground proved against her, and now returns to a mile on her preferred fast ground.
Charlie Johnston told Tattersalls: "A disappointing run in the Oaks but you can put a complete line through that. She hated the ground; she's very much a fast-ground filly. The owners were keen off the back of that for her to come back to a mile and this was the obvious choice. She's been placed in two Group 1s over a mile at Newmarket so conditions should be ideal for her. Precise sets a very high standard but we're hopeful that our filly will run a big race."
The field is completed by Willie McCreery's Jancis, another Irish challenger. The dual Group winner landed the Group 2 Dahlia Stakes over Newmarket's Rowley Mile earlier this season before finishing runner-up to Blue Bolt in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot who she will reoppose on Friday looking to reverse the placings.
The Tattersalls July Sale, Europe’s premier midsummer sale, continues today and tomorrow. For more information, please visit www.tattersalls.com.
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