'To finish her career as she did was a joy' - Ralph Beckett pays tribute to Bluestocking following retirement of Arc heroine

Ralph Beckett on Monday described his pride in Bluestocking and his team after it was announced the Arc winner has been retired to stud.

The four-year-old defeated Aventure by a length and a quarter in the Longchamp showpiece this month and will take up her new career at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud.

Bluestocking never finished out of the first four in her 13-race career and also struck at the top level in the Pretty Polly at the Curragh and the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp this year.

Beckett said: "We were blessed to have her, and to finish her career as she did was a joy. I was very proud of her.

"She ran in every month from May to October this year, and to do that at a mile and a half is tremendously hard on them. She took it all in her stride and finished the season better than any of us believed was possible."

Offering an insight into what she was like to train, Beckett said: "It was complicated initially. She wasn't particularly easy at two, and at three it wasn't a smooth ride. She was a sound filly, but we weren't able to campaign her quite the way we would have liked to last year.

"We had to miss out early on and she was second in the Irish Oaks having gone clear, which was a difficult pill to swallow, and then I managed to get her beaten everywhere after that. She was beaten a neck in a Listed race at Chester and she missed out narrowly on Champions Day when the switch to the inner track went against her.

"It all came together this year; it's been great fun and we’ve enjoyed every moment of it."

Bluestocking: won the Arc under Rossa RyanCredit: Edward Whitaker

Beckett was keen to praise Juddmonte and three key members of his staff: assistant Gary Plasted, Josie Mansell, who rode Bluestocking every day, and the filly’s groom Eric Ngwane.

He said: "When you're running a horse that often, it makes it harder at home because you have to pick your moments as to when you turn the screw. My team did a brilliant job with her and I'm proud of them for that. The reason she reached the heights was because she was managed in the best possible way by those closest to her.

"Another reason why it worked so well was that Juddmonte never put any pressure on the way we campaigned or trained her. At no point was my hand forced. We were able to make decisions based on her at every point, and that was why she got as far as she did.

"It was a big shout to stump up €120,000 to run her in the Arc, but there was no rush on the decision and I was allowed to make it whenever I wanted, and that definitely counted on October 6."

Bluestocking: gained a first Group 1 in the Pretty Polly in JuneCredit: Patrick McCann

Rossa Ryan rode Bluestocking in nine of her 13 starts, including throughout her four-year-old campaign.

He said: "She was a filly of a lifetime and has taken me to places where I never thought I would even dream about. To have been associated with her was an honour and a privilege, and I hope she's half as good a broodmare as she was a racehorse.

"She had a great constitution, danced every dance and took everything we threw at her – she just got better and better and wanted more.

"It was a fairytale ending in the Arc and a day I'll never forget. To be bridesmaid throughout her three-year-old career and then come out and win the races she did at four was a credit to everyone at Juddmonte and everyone at Ralph's, who are the unsung heroes."

Juddmonte also announced the Andrew Balding-trained Kalpana, an impressive winner of the Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions Day, will stay in training next year. She is the 10-1 favourite with several firms for next year's Arc.

A minor injury ruled the Brad Cox-trained Idiomatic out of a repeat bid in the Breeders' Cup Distaff last week and the five-time Grade 1 winner has been retired to stud.

Read more . . .

Khalid Abdullah deserves the credit for Bluestocking’s Arc victory - and what a legacy Juddmonte's founder left 

'She's changed my life' - brilliant Bluestocking propels Ryan, Beckett and Juddmonte to Arc history 

Bluestocking and Kyprios share the lead in Cartier Horse of The Year standings after Arc weekend success 

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