Billesdon Brook Pulls 66-1 Upset in 1,000 Guineas

Trainer Richard Hannon's Billesdon Brook was the shock winner of the QIPCO One Thousand Guineas (G1) at Newmarket May 6, coming home 1 3/4 lengths clear of 14 rival 3-year-old fillies and returning the biggest price in the race's history.

The daughter of Champs Elysees completed the mile test in a time of 1:36.62 on a good to firm track.

Group 1 winner Laurens finished second for trainer Karl Burke, while trainer Aidan O'Brien—attempting to double up after taking out yesterday's QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas (G1) with Saxon Warrior—had to settle for third with 11-4 favorite Happily.

Godolphin, looking for its first win in the fillies' classic since 2011, had two runners but could only manage fourth with Wild Illusion and sixth with Soliloquy.

Sent off at odds of 66-1—the longest shot in the field—Pall Mall Partners and Partners' Billesdon Brook had finished fifth behind Laurens in the William Hill May Hill Stakes (G2) at Doncaster to round out her juvenile campaign. She was fourth behind Soliloquy in the Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes (G3) in her season debut.

She reversed form with both of those fillies, coming with a strong run to gain the lead approaching the final furlong and giving jockey Sean Levey the biggest win of his career.  

"That's a massive shock to me—she had a lot to find," Levey said. "I've come out and said we could do with a bit of luck, she needs to find 17 pounds! Where she's found that from, I don't know.

"She ran in the Nell Gwyn and was a little bit gassy, so she ran well to be fourth," he added. "If she runs her best, she settles throughout, then shows that turn of foot at the end, which she did. I came there two furlongs out and thought, 'Jesus, I might be going a bit early here,' but I didn't want to disappoint her. I've had plenty of winners and have ridden in plenty of races. I've always needed a group 1, that good horse, and that's happened today. Fantastic."

Laurens, under P J McDonald, couldn't match Billesdon Brook's finishing kick when it mattered. The consistent daughter of Siyouni has finished first or second in all five of her starts, with four of those coming in group company.

Owner John Dance was thrilled with the effort. 

"It was a fantastic run, and she gave it everything," he said. "She probably found the ground a bit lively coming down the Dip, and the first thing PJ said when he got off was, 'We'll go to France.' She's been a dream since day one. We're incredibly proud."

Happily, winner of last season's Moyglare Stud Stakes (G1) and Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-Grand Criterium (G1) as a 2-year-old, was unable to quicken as the pace lifted inside the final two furlongs but only missed second by a half-length. O'Brien and jockey Ryan Moore had jetted back to Newmarket overnight following the disappointment of Mendelssohn's last-place finish in Saturday's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).