Sunday sees the return of Deauville's August Festival, with the Prix Rothschild the first of five Group 1s throughout the month. Last month's Falmouth one-two Blue Bolt (Blue Point) and Precise (Starspangledbanner) renew rivalry with no obvious reason for a turnaround as the weight-for-age gap narrows slightly.One of Andrew Balding's gang of formidable fillies and mares, Juddmonte's Blue Bolt has like Kalpana been steadily honed into the top performer she now is and defends an unbeaten 2026 record here having also taken Royal Ascot's Duke of Cambridge Stakes. “She has probably developed a good bit from three to four and is a big, strong unit now and I thought she was very good at Royal Ascot and then even better in the Falmouth at Newmarket,” Barry Mahon said. “She wasn't in the Sussex and we did briefly discuss supplementing with her owners, but we just felt it was wise keeping her against her own sex for the time being then later in the year we could consider rolling the dice against colts.”Precise, who is accomplished in her own right having won four at this level including the Irish 1,000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes, has the edge over fellow three-year-olds Moon Target (Cracksman) and Evolutionist (Night Of Thunder) on previous form.The action begins with the seven-furlong G3 Prix Six Perfections, with the French two-year-olds Queen Of The Day (No Nay Never) and Woot Woot (Wootton Bassett) closely matched taken on by Amo's impressive Hamilton maiden winner Nicely (Persian Force). Next up is the G3 Prix de Cabourg over the Prix Morny trip where Queen Of The Day's trainer Francis Graffard saddles Hollymount Stud's TDN Rising Star Primetime Emmy (Extreme Choice), with Wathnan's Albany third Light Of Dawn (Showcasing) setting the standard.At Dusseldorf, the G1 Henkel-Preis der Diana is a fascinating affair, with Riviera Equine and Maurice Lagasse's Prix Saint-Alary winner Lapotheose (Wootton Bassett) a notable raider from the Yann Barberot stable. Gestut Wittekindshof's exciting Diana Trial scorer Night Breath (Bated Breath) and Gestut Fahrhof's Hamburger Stutenpreis winner Soreanga (Siyouni) lead the home defence, with the former of particular interest emanating from the family of the 1996 and 2003 Diana heroines Night Petticoat and Next Gina as well as the Deutsches Derby hero Next Desert and Oaks d'Italia winner Night Of Magic.The post Rothschild Opens Deauville Festival appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.