1000 Guineas Tips 2026: Double Figure Priced Filly To Take On Precise

The 1000 Guineas takes centre stage at Newmarket on Sunday afternoon and Billy Grimshaw is back to preview the fillies’ Classic. Precise is the most likely winner, but at the prices Billy is looking elsewhere for the value...

In a repeat of the potential scenario I have allowed on Saturday, I could be left feeling slightly silly for trying to get Precise beaten in the 2026 1000 Guineas. She is the best filly in the race on what we have seen, she has already won over course and distance, she has Ryan Moore on board, and she represents a trainer who knows a thing or two about readying one for a Classic!

She has done very little wrong since her debut defeat, and her Fillies’ Mile win at Newmarket last autumn was the sort of performance that made her a perfectly fair winter favourite for this. She handled the dip, she stayed the mile, she put proper fillies away, and there is no obvious reason why she should not train on. If this was simply a question of naming the most likely winner, I would not be clever. It is Precise.

The issue is that betting is never quite that simple. At around 2/1 in a 19-runner 1000 Guineas, I can leave her alone. This is a big field of unexposed fillies hurtling down the Rowley Mile, and for all the favourite may well be good enough, she is short enough when you factor in the usual Classic unknowns. Pace, draw, freshness, improvement and racing room all have to come into it, and I would rather take a swing at something with more juice in the price.

Venetian Sun is clearly a big danger and I can see why she sits so prominently in the market. She was a high-class juvenile, she has a likeable attitude, and she chased home Precise in the Moyglare at the Curragh. My slight concern is whether she is crying out for a mile. She was very good over sprint trips last season and although she shaped as if seven furlongs was within range, this is a different sort of test altogether. At the price, I am not desperate to find out.

True Love is another who demands respect. She was a sharp and busy two-year-old, has already returned with a Group 3 win over seven furlongs at Leopardstown, and it is hardly a negative that she is also coming from Ballydoyle. The problem is similar, though. She has looked very effective with pace in the race and speed in her own legs, but stretching right out to a truly-run mile at Newmarket is not a formality. She could stay, but I do not think she is being missed in the market.

My Highness has to be taken seriously for Andre Fabre and Oisin Murphy, while The Prettiest Star ran a very nice race in the Rockfel and has already shown she handles Newmarket. Touleen and Evolutionist also bring recent pattern-race form to the table, so this is not a thin Classic by any means. The more I look at it, though, the more I am drawn to the least exposed filly anywhere near the front half of the betting.

That filly is ABASHIRI.

I fully accept she has plenty to prove. She has had just one start, that came on the all-weather at Kempton, and this is an enormous jump from a novice to a 1000 Guineas. If you are the sort of punter who wants a long list of battle-hardened form lines, she is not going to be for you. But sometimes with these fillies, the lack of evidence is also the opportunity.

What we do know is that she won that Kempton race over a mile by four lengths, so stamina is not a guess. She is by Frankel out of Sobetsu, which makes her a full sister to English Rose, and there is enough in that page to think the Rowley Mile should suit her better than it will suit plenty of these. I also like that she is drawn high, which could prove no bad thing if the race develops where expected, and William Buick riding for Charlie Appleby in a Newmarket Classic is never something to take lightly.

The obvious question is whether she is simply too inexperienced. She might be. But Appleby is not in the habit of tilting at Classics with fillies who are nowhere near ready, and we saw only last year how he could get one spot on for this race. Abashiri does not have the established Group 1 form of Precise, but she does have the profile of one who could improve dramatically from two to three and from first start to second start.

That is the angle. Precise is the one they all have to beat, and I will not be remotely shocked if she wins. But at the prices, I would rather back the filly with the untapped potential, proven mile stamina, a favourable draw and a pedigree that screams she can be much better than a mere novice winner. She is also my fancy for The Oaks at Epsom, so if you spot any doubles flying around or can back her perhaps to place in this and win that race, i could not put you off.