Bubbling powers home for convincing Rockfel victory

Bubbling finished with gusto to provide trainer Aidan O’Brien with a fourth victory in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket.

A winner on her second start at Galway before finishing third in a Listed event at the Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown two weeks ago, Bubbling was a well-supported 11-8 favourite to successfully graduate to Group Two level on the Rowley Mile and make it a treble on the card for Ryan Moore.

After being slightly slow into stride, Moore gave the No Nay Never filly time to find her feet during the early stages of the seven-furlong contest while the Victorious Racing-owned pair of Serving With Style and Duty First vied for the lead.

However, Bubbling was produced with a well-timed challenge against the far rail inside the final furlong and the further she went, the better she looked, eventually passing the post with two and a quarter lengths in hand over Serving With Style in second.

The previously unbeaten Formal, bidding to give the soon-to-retire Sir Michael Stoute his fourth Rockfel success, was disappointing in fourth.

Paddy Power cut Bubbling to 6-1 from 16-1 for the Fillies’ Mile back at Newmarket on October 11, although her trainer suggested she may not run again this season.

O’Brien watched from home but said: “We were delighted with that.

“She ran a very good race the last day but things just didn’t work out for her, it was a bit messy.

“She’s definitely a filly to look forward to for next year. She could be a middle-distance filly but she’ll be fine over a mile also.

“I’m not sure if she’ll run again this year, possibly not, but we’ll see.

“She obviously handled the soft ground very well anyway, I don’t think any ground is going to bother her.”

Moore told Racing TV: “They didn’t go that mad and when they quickened, she just got a bit lost and unbalanced. She’s still learning and stayed on well up the hill. She’ll be comfortable going a bit further.

“We’re still learning about them (O’Brien’s juvenile fillies), it’s early days. They won’t finish their progressions for a while yet, so we’ll learn and run them and Aidan will work them out.”