Breeders’ Cup Mile could be next for True Love

True Love gave Aidan O’Brien his Group 1 of Arc weekend, and she left it late. The Qatar Prix de la Forêt was the last top-level race on the card at ParisLongchamp, and the Ballydoyle filly took it under Ryan Moore, getting the better of Christopher Head’s Nighttime in a head bob.

She was never an easy horse to keep right. As a two-year-old she ran seven times and still found enough to win the Cheveley Park, on top of her Queen Mary at Royal Ascot. She came back this spring a stronger filly and won the 1,000 Guineas. Three more Group 1 placings followed. The last two runs, though, had her out of the frame, and the form had started to look a shade flat. Dropped back to seven furlongs, she dug in.

Moore’s stable companion Puerto Rico was not far away. He finished third, a head behind Nighttime, and it was the best he has run all season.

O’Brien was pleased she had come through a long year in one piece. “She’s had a long season and when they’re like that they need a lot of care and attention,” he said. “I’m delighted for everyone and Ryan gave her a great ride.”

He ran through the record without dressing it up. “She’s a Queen Mary winner, she’s a Cheveley Park winner and she’s a Guineas winner, what can you say? Coming back to seven furlongs is probably her perfect trip, but she gets a mile on an easy track and still won an English Guineas.”

Keeneland is the obvious next stop. “She’s an incredible filly really and she could go to the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Ryan said she likes the feel of an aggressive race now because she’s gone a little bit laid-back and going round a bend at Keeneland should suit her.”