Blue Bolt will step up in trip rather than take on the boys when she bids to give Andrew Balding a first winner at the Breeders' Cup.
The 4-year-old filly has won all six of her starts this year, including four group 1s, and was kept among the pre-entries for two races at Keeneland this weekend, the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) and the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) over 1 1/2 furlongs further.
Owners Juddmonte revealed Oct. 26 that it will be the longer of the two Breeders' Cup events for Blue Bolt, who has raced exclusively at a mile since her debut over 7 furlongs as a 3-year-old last April.
Blue Bolt has been installed as a top-priced 9-4 favorite with William Hill for the Filly and Mare Turf, a race won by European trainers in seven of the last 10 years, including the last two occasions it was run at Keeneland.
She could face a familiar foe in Precise. The Aidan O'Brien-trained filly, who is 7-2 with Hills, has finished behind Blue Bolt on three occasions this season, finishing second to her in the Falmouth Stakes (G1) and the Prix Rothschild (G1), and fifth, beaten 4 1/4 lengths, in the Matron Stakes (G1) at Leopardstown.
However, Precise has proved she can handle a mile and a quarter when finishing second in the Prix de l'Opera (G1) at Longchamp this month.
Juddmonte will also be represented in the Mile with Qirat, last year's shock 150-1 Sussex Stakes (G1) winner who returned to winning ways in the Prix Daniel Wildenstein (G2) last time on Arc weekend in Paris.
Notable Speech, who won the Mile for Charlie Appleby last year when it was held at Del Mar, is the 5-4 favorite to win the race again in a market dominated by European interest. O'Brien's True Love and Lake Forest will run in the Mile, and Irish Champion Stakes (G1) winner Hotazhell will run in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).
Balding, who is second in the trainers' championship in Britain behind O'Brien, requires a strong final two months of the year to claw back the near £200,000 deficit. He will be represented at the Breeders' Cup on Friday, with Moonrise his most noticeable contender in the Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T).
