The Wow Signal To Prep For Guineas

Al Shaqab Racing's The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) has wintered well and is expected to have a prep run prior to the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket May 2, according to trainer John Quinn. The conditioner pointed to the G3 Craven S. at Newmarket Apr. 16 and the G3 Greenham S. at Newbury two days later as possible targets. 
“The Wow Signal had a nice break and then came back in after Christmas and is back cantering,” Quinn said. “He is a big, strong colt and is very enthusiastic. The QIPCO 2000 Guineas is his number one spring target and I think that it will be helpful to get a prep race into him beforehand, so he will probably go for the Craven S. or the Greenham.” 
Purchased privately by Al Shaqab after a nine-length 
debut score at Ayr in May, The Wow Signal took the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot next out followed by the G1 Prix Morny over subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf scorer Hootenanny (Quality Road). His unbeaten record was snapped, however, when he was last of nine in the G1 Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp Oct. 5. 
“I wouldn't want to make any major excuses [about his Longchamp performance], but when he came back home afterwards he was a very tired colt who had clearly had enough, whereas after his Ascot and Deauville runs he bounced back straight away,” Quinn explained. “You never know when it's going to be a bridge too far and he had a very long, hard year with a lot of traveling. If he had finished fourth or fifth one might think that was just as good as he is, but how he ran was clearly not his real form.” 
All of The Wow Signal's victories have come over six furlongs, but Quinn said he doesn't expect the step up to a mile for the Guineas to be an issue. 
“He should have every chance of staying a mile and he might stay further, although we will not be thinking about that until after the Guineas,” he said. “His sire, Starspangledbanner, was a tough sort who won at up to a mile and there is plenty of stamina on the dam's side of his pedigree. Before his last run you would have said that he was screaming out for seven furlongs as he only got up in the last 50 yards in the Morny, and he was going away at the finish in the Coventry.”