Musical Times maintained her undefeated status in the bet365 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket, though the victory did not come without its share of drama in the closing stages.
Trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by William Buick, the Godolphin-owned filly had impressed in her opening two starts on the July Course and at Yarmouth before landing the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster last month. According to Sporting Life, the victory at Newmarket extended her record to four wins from four starts as a two-year-old.
Desert Flower, who would go on to win the 1000 Guineas, completed the May Hill-Fillies' Mile double for Appleby and Buick two years prior, and Musical Times arrived at Newmarket as the 4/9 favourite to replicate that achievement.
The race itself, run over one mile on good ground with eight runners, proved testing for the odds-on backers. Buick found himself searching for an opening through the field, and Musical Times was forced to work harder than expected to find clear running. Once the gap materialised, however, she accelerated decisively to defeat Aidan O'Brien's Haven by a length. According to BBC Sport, Forbidden Fire completed the frame in third place, finishing three and a half lengths behind the runner-up.
The winning time of 1:35.07 underlined the competitive nature of the contest, and Appleby acknowledged the demands placed on his filly during the race.
I'm delighted and I have to say after two furlongs we just had to hold our breath a little bit and see what was happening, but William was on the class filly in the race and he knew it himself. He was just trying to find those gaps and when he did she quickened up smartly.
The trainer went on to praise both his horse and jockey for their composure under pressure.
The rest were riding to beat one filly - ours, but credit to her and William they toughed it out and when she found the gaps she did what was needed.
Appleby highlighted Musical Times's ability to handle the undulations of the Newmarket track, noting that she would have preferred softer ground and that the tighter surface affected her stride pattern.
When she got the run upsides the eventual second she was always going to attack the hill well and the one thing we've seen is she always gallops out strongly.
She had to work a bit hard there but she will have learned plenty and what I liked about her today was she went to post well and is still learning.
The trainer also reflected on the strength of the fillies' division this season, drawing a distinction between Musical Times and her rivals.
The fillies division is strong this year and there's some lovely fillies around but they look to be all sprinting fillies while this girl sees out the mile well.
She was seeing the dip for the first time and probably wanted easier ground and it is nice if they can see the dip.
But there was no chance of her seeing it when she was rolling down and you could see that rounded action looking a bit enhanced here with the ground being tighter than Doncaster and not being able to see that dip bless her. But I think it's a performance you can mark up a little bit.
Guineas target established
Following the victory, Musical Times was cut to 5/2 from 4/1 with BOYLE Sports for next year's 1000 Guineas. Appleby confirmed his intention to target the opening fillies' Classic of the season, employing his tried and tested preparation method.
There's no doubt about it she needed her class to get her home today but from what we saw I think she is entitled to be one of the favourites for the Guineas. She's done it over the mile and sees it out well.
We'll put her away now and we'll probably just come here for a racecourse gallop and then on to the Guineas hopefully.
According to Daily Racing Form, Appleby confirmed that Musical Times would not race again in 2026, with the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 2, 2027, identified as an early target for the filly. The trainer indicated that a racecourse gallop at Newmarket would precede her Classic campaign.
When assessing Musical Times's potential beyond the mile, Appleby suggested she possesses the natural pace and acceleration to succeed at longer distances, though he views her primarily as a miler at this stage.
I would say she is a miler through and through at the minute and she has a lot of natural pace and quickens.
She could maybe get further and you don't always need to be a proper mile-and-a-half horse at Epsom sometimes and if you are miler who can get a mile and a quarter you might be able to get the job done.
Haven's middle-distance prospects
While Appleby holds reservations about extending Musical Times beyond her optimal distance, O'Brien views Haven's defeat as a stepping stone to success over longer trips. The Dundalk maiden winner made a significant statement by competing at Group level for the first time and acquitting herself with credit in second place.
She's only a baby, is progressing lovely and I'm delighted with her run.
We have always thought she was a nice filly and she's going to be lovely next season.
O'Brien suggested that Haven will develop into a middle-distance performer, with the Oaks and races over a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half representing her natural targets.
She's progressing and the other filly is a big mature filly, so we couldn't be happier.
I think she's probably an Oaks filly, a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half. She's going to be a middle-distance filly.
The contrasting assessments of Musical Times and Haven by their respective trainers suggest that while both fillies have demonstrated genuine quality, their futures may diverge significantly, with Musical Times targeting the Guineas and Haven potentially being aimed at the Oaks and staying races next season.
