True Love Wins 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, Full 1-2-3 Results

The first fillies' Classic of the Flat season saw Aidan O'Brien hold a strong hand with two of the first three in the betting, but it was the 9-2 shot True Love who emerged victorious in the Betfred 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Race Overview

True Love, a two-year-old winner of the five-furlong Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot and Newmarket's Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes, was originally earmarked as a sprinter. However, a win over seven furlongs at Leopardstown three weeks earlier earned her a place in the 19-runner line-up for the Fillies' Classic.

Her stablemate Precise led the betting at 9-5 but could only manage seventh place. True Love proved her staying power over the Rowley Mile, outlasting 16-1 shot Evolutionist by a length and three-quarters, with Venetian Lace half a length back in third.

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Trainer's Reaction

“Obviously, you couldn’t be sure that she was going to get a mile,” admitted O’Brien, winning the race for the eighth time. “She’s a Queen Mary winner, which is very unusual - for a Queen Mary winner to get a mile. But, when she was able to win in Leopardstown in soft ground - and got no cover - there was always a chance that she could get it and the lads through the winter thought that she might get it, because she is very relaxed in all her work.”

O’Brien added: “There was obviously a chance. But usually those horses that are sprinting-bred - you can stretch them too far - and this place, more than any track in the world, is very unforgiving. There’s nowhere to hide out there - it’s open and the pace is usually on. It’s hard for them to go slow in those races.”

Future Plans

True Love is now set to remain at a mile, with the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh two weeks on Sunday and a return to Royal Ascot for the Coronation Stakes in June next on her to-do list. “You wouldn’t go any further - no way,” added O’Brien. “I think the right thing would be to stay at a mile with her. I imagine that’s what the lads will do - they usually do the logical things.”

Jockey Wayne Lordan, who partnered True Love, has now ridden three 1,000 Guineas winners for Ballydoyle, following Winter in 2017 and Hermosa in 2019. “We came here confident and hopeful,” said Lordan. “There was always a little question mark whether she’d get the mile, but her homework would suggest she would. She relaxed beautifully and I went through the race very comfortable.”