SINCE its inception in the mid 16th century, several famous horses have graced the turf at Salisbury. Eclipse was so good that no trainer would field against him and he enjoyed a walk-over.

Of late, Brigadier Gerard won the Champagne Stakes, and Mill Reef showed blistering speed to land the Salisbury Stakes as two-year-olds. They left their mark on the classic roll of fame in the 2,000 Guineas and The Derby respectively the following year.

Now another name can be added to that illustrious list - Bluestocking.

Two years ago, she made her racecourse debut at Salisbury on an afternoon in which Ralph Beckett scooped three winners but it was the filly that stood out. Beckett, who trains just outside Andover at Kimpton Down, the yard once the base for the legendary Toby Balding, is never one to hyperbole about a juvenile's abilities, simply saying he entertained high hopes for her.

And how they have been justified. 

This week, the four-year-old, a remorseless galloper with a high cruising speed, won the Prix de L' Arc de Triomphe, regarded as Europe's most prestigious flat race, and that remarkable achievement on the back of two other Group one races this season was naturally applauded by Salisbury's clerk of the course Jermey Martin.

"Nothing can give greater pleasure for a Salisbury winner to gain success at the highest level," he said. "It gives us enormous satisfaction that we can attract the very best two-year-olds who go on to become champions. I was absolutely thrilled at seeing her win."

Bluestocking became the second Arc winner to have run at Salisbury, pointing out that Alpinista took its 2020 running of the Upavon Stakes, the most valuable race the course stages for fillies and mares, before triumphing at Longchamp in 2022.

Martin recognises the proximity of several leading stables who are inclined to run promising horses at Salisbury, a course with lots of characteristics and provide a searching test on a track which towards the season's end tends to ride on the soft side of good. 

"Young horses learn a lot here. We take great care in providing the very best ground possible throughout the summer and later on, and that encourages trainers to run very good two-year-olds here."

But for 2024, everything is in the past. 

This year's action ending at 4.55 last Thursday when the four-year-old Torre Del Oro plodded over the finishing line to finish last in the concluding 14 furlong handicap.

It has not been the most straightforward tasks for the groundsmen to combat the elements with one September meeting being abandoned following a mid-morning tempest that left parts of the track under water.

"It has not been the best of summers," Martin conceded. "We started in early May after a cold, wet winter with two meetings run on heavy ground and then we had a real mix of weather."

So that's it until May 4 next year. But bear one statistic in mind. Two years after Bluestocking took the one mile novice race, Beckett saddled another highly promising successor in Chantilly Lace. 

Could history repeat itself? Beckett hopes to have ready her ready for the 1,000 Guineas....