Royal Ascot next for Believing as George Boughey hails 'very satisfying' Group 1 breakthrough - plus the latest on his sole Derby entry

Royal Ascot will be the next destination for George Boughey's globetrotting mare Believing as the trainer sets his sights on more Group 1 success.

The five-year-old won her first race at the highest level at the ninth attempt in Saturday's Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan and while that was enough to gain the best black-type for her new owners the Coolmore partners, Boughey has Ascot in his sights.

The trainer was not present to see her record a battling victory over Japan's Win Carnelian over the weekend, but gained immense satisfaction from the feat and has reported her to be in excellent condition since she returned to his Newmarket yard.

Believing: winner of the Al Quoz Sprint for George BougheyCredit: Dubai Racing Club

"I’ve actually never seen her win," the trainer said on Wednesday. "I’m expecting my first child this week, she’s overdue, so I possibly could have been there but the job was done by my team who know her so well.

"We did a lot of work with the stalls after she went over in the gate at Del Mar, just trying to get that discipline into her that she was able to relax. She just seemed in a very different mental space in the last eight to ten weeks. She’s gone from strength to strength and she’s looked amazing since we got back.

"There was unfinished business that we wanted to tick off. There was huge personal satisfaction in Coolmore keeping her in the stable and trusting the process. Winning the 1,000 Guineas with Cachet was an amazing day, but to ship a filly through the winter into Dubai after what happened in America [late veterinary scratch] was very satisfying.

"We’ll wait a long time to achieve something else like that."

William Buick salutes the crowd after Believing's tough success in the Al Quoz SprintCredit: Dubai Racing Club

Believing won the Achilles and Sapphire Stakes in an ambitious campaign last season when she finished fourth in both major sprints at Royal Ascot, second in the Flying Five and Nunthorpe and third in the Prix de l'Abbaye.

All eyes will now be on a return to June's showcase meeting where she chased home Asfoora and Khaadem last year.

"She’ll go straight to Royal Ascot," Boughey said. "She’ll have an entry in both of the Group 1 sprints and we’ll make a decision with the owners. They’ve got Storm Boy for the sprint division too.

"I don’t think she’ll be campaigned quite as aggressively this year, but Ascot is the main target. The King Charles is arguably the greatest test of speed and she’ll have horses around the world taking her on. I’d love to see her turn up there in the form she was in at Meydan.

George Boughey: 'Royal Ascot is the main target' for stable star BelievingCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We’ve only had a couple of top-level performers going from their fourth to fifth year and we don’t really have that in Flat racing. It’s great and we’d love to have more of them, they’re just very hard to find."

Boughey may have unearthed another star in the unbeaten Hopewell Rock, who is working his way back from the Betfred Derby and could make his seasonal debut in the bet365 Feilden Stakes on Tuesday.

Boughey said: "We entered him in the Feilden and we’ll make a call with the owner through the week. Myself and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid would like to see him step up towards the Derby trip. The nine furlongs at Newmarket looks a good stepping stone. He’s got an entry in the Dante and the Blue Riband at Epsom."

Hopewell Rock (left): has Derby ambitions this seasonCredit: Getty Images

The colt won his two starts at Newbury and Bath in the style of a top prospect and Boughey has been delighted with his progress over the winter break.

"His work has been very strong," he said. "His work rider also rode Cachet and Via Sistina and he was away through the winter with our horses in Bahrain, but he’s delighted with how he’s wintered and that's good enough for me.

"He’s been very well balanced since we saw him at the yearling sales and he’s always shown so much pace for a horse that’s bred to get ten or twelve furlongs. He went for a day out at Newbury and I would have been delighted if he’d placed, he was so raw and weak, so to get the job done in a competitive race was great.

"He then showed versatility to win on heavy ground at Bath and to beat a horse who won by ten lengths on his next start was very pleasing. We’ve got a good opinion of him and I’m looking forward to getting him back on track."

Read these next:

Believing grabs her maiden Group 1 in Al Quoz thriller 

George Boughey delighted as 'absolute star' Believing to stay with trainer following 3,000,000gns purchase by Coolmore 

George Boughey reveals major career move in Newmarket after big-money purchase of two Godolphin yards 

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