Precise moment comes with Prestige Stakes victory

Precise proved well named as she enhanced her reputation by taking perfect aim at the Virgin Bet Prestige Fillies’ Stakes at Goodwood.

Off the mark at the second attempt at Cork earlier this month, Aidan O’Brien’s youngster was sent off 5-2 second-favourite on this raiding mission in the hands of Wayne Lordan.

Never far away from the pace, the daughter of Starspangledbanner fought her way to the front with a furlong to run and showed a tremendous attitude to repel the persistent challenge of Sir Mark Prescott’s 13-8 market leader Moon Target, scoring by three-quarters of a length.

It was O’Brien’s first win in the Group Three event, a race that serves as a ‘win and you’re in’ for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf at Del Mar in November. Paddy Power make her 25-1 from 40s for next year’s 1000 Guineas.

Lordan said: “She’s a very professional filly, she ran over six furlongs at Fairyhouse the first day and learned plenty and then stepped up to seven furlongs and won her maiden quite well.

“We always thought she could win her maiden at six and then go up in trip, but as it happened she won her maiden at seven. She has pace and what you like about her is when I get down into her she gets seven quite well.

“She looked comfortable and when I hit the front about a furlong out she pricked one ear so she was hanging on to a little bit which is always a nice sign as it shows she wasn’t doing the full limit, so that was good.”

On possible future plans, he added: “I’ll leave running plans to them (Aidan and the owners), they’ve been at it years and do it very well, I’m happy to just turn up when I’m asked to.

“She’s a filly with pace, but like I say, we always thought seven would be a nice trip for her and today she travelled good. She hit the line well enough where you would think going up another furlong would be an option as well.”

Moon Target went into the race with a lofty reputation after impressing at both Newmarket and Yarmouth so far this summer.

However, she never quite looked at ease on the track and was unable to join the Heath House master’s Red Camellia on the roll of honour, instead joining the handler’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista on the list of those beaten in this race when well fancied.

“I thought there was a lot to be disappointed about because I hoped she would win,” Prescott told ITV Racing.

“She’s a long-striding filly and I just felt little bits and pieces went wrong, I still thought she would beat Aidan’s filly a furlong out but she kept on going very well.

“I always thought early on she was a firm ground filly and I’m maybe wrong, but she’s got a very long action so perhaps Goodwood doesn’t suit her as much as Newmarket and Yarmouth and perhaps it’s more that than the ground, that’s just my theory.

“She will run in the Fillies’ Mile probably and hope she can do better there. I was disappointed she was beat, but she probably ran OK.”