By Emma Berry
The entries for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas and QIPCO 1000 Guineas closed on Tuesday, with 56 colts engaged in the first major European Classic of the season at this stage. Of the 51 fillies entered for the 1000 Guineas a day later on May 1, three are based at Simon and Ed Crisford's Gainsborough Stables in Newmarket, including Flotus (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), whose breeders Newtown Stud and Tim Pabst received the ITBA Award for the leading 2-year-old filly on Sunday night.
After making almost all in September's G1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park S. before being clobbered close home by Tenebrism (Caravaggio), Flotus made one last public appearance in 2021 when being offered for sale at Tattersalls in December. One million guineas changed hands for the Listed winner and Group 1 runner-up but thankfully she returned to Gainsborough Stables and this year will carry some well known silks when she races in the colours of her new owner Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm.
“We were very delighted to welcome her back,” said Simon Crisford. “Ultimately she will be exported to Japan, that goes without saying, but she is only a 3-year-old so there's more water to flow under the bridge before she goes there and I very much hope she can build on what she achieved last season. I don't see any reason why she couldn't do that.”
The question that is impossible to answer at this early stage of the year is whether or not Flotus will see out the mile of the Guineas. Her dam Floriade (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) won over that distance in the French provinces before being bought by Cathy Grassick for €15,000. On the face of it her pedigree leans towards speed, and Flotus has certainly shown that she is not short of a gear change or two, but her half-brother, albeit by a greater stamina influence in Nathaniel (Ire), has won four races at two miles or just beyond.
“She has had a good winter–all of them have wintered well actually–and physically she has done very nicely,” said Crisford. “There are races at Newmarket, Newbury, Chelmsford, Ascot. It's a good programme actually, to enable us to decide what her optimum trip is going to be this year. There are options over six furlongs or seven furlongs to start, and she is entered in the French, English and Irish Guineas.”
He continued, “Obviously we don't know if she is a filly who is going to get the mile. What we do know is that six furlongs suits her well. When she is back racing in the spring then that will tell us everything we need to know. She's got loads of toe, we saw that, especially at Newmarket, she was lightning quick throughout in that race and only just got collared at the end, and she showed a nice turn of foot going into the dip that day off a strong pace.
“I will be in consultation with her owner closer to the time to discuss plans and whether we go for a trial or stick to the six-furlong races. Those decisions will be made at the beginning of April.”
Along with Flotus, the stable is also represented among the Guineas entries by Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's Daneh (GB), a daughter of Dubawi (Ire) and the dual Group 1 winner Rizeena (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), who won on debut last June and was then placed behind Oscula (Ire) and Mise En Scene (GB) respectively in Group 3 contests at Deauville and Goodwood.
“Daneh is beautifully bred and is a very nice filly with a turn of foot,” noted her trainer. “She ran incredibly well at Goodwood and had a bit of a setback after that which prevented us from running her again but I am very much looking forward to seeing her when she gets back on the work tab.”
With Flotus and Daneh representing Japanese and Dubaian owners, the international element of the string is enhanced further by the third 1000 Guineas entrant, Fast Attack (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who is owned by Bahrain's Shaikh Nasser Al Khalifa and Fawzi Nass. The Ballylinch Stud-bred filly, a grand-daughter of the G2 Queen Mary S. winner Gilded (Ire) (Redback {GB}), completed her four-start juvenile campaign with two wins to her name, including the G3 Oh So Sharp S. over seven furlongs of the Rowley Mile.
Crisford added, “They were kept in light training throughout the winter and this winter has been much easier than last winter in terms of weather. We have managed to get them on grass a lot more this winter and I would say they are all reasonably forward in condition and where we want them to be for this time of the year. They're all getting ramped up now, ready to start working. I always think that as soon as the last horse crosses the line at Cheltenham then the phone starts ringing and suddenly there's this automatic transition to the Flat season. It's a very exciting time of the year.”
While there is currently the odd glimmer of spring evident in Newmarket, a portion of the Crisford team is currently enjoying the much warmer climate of the Middle East and is housed at Millennium Stables at Meydan. The dual aspect of the operation through the winter in Dubai and England works well, particularly since Simon Crisford started training in partnership with his son Ed in May 2020.
Even before the season gets properly underway in Britain, this coming weekend will be action-packed as the Crisford stable is represented on Saturday at Meydan by Finest Sound (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) in the G1 Jebel Hatta, Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G2 Dubai City of Gold, and Algiers (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G3 Burj Nahaar, while Noel O'Callaghan's homebred Anthem National (Ire) is entered for the Listed Spring Cup at Lingfield.
“It's great to have Ed as a co-trainer,” said Crisford senior. “He's really enjoying it and working very hard. He's out in Dubai at the moment supervising our Super Saturday runners. If one of us is there, the other one will be here [in Newmarket], and vice versa. We have a small stable out there in the winter; we enjoy doing that and it's good for our clients. But we also enjoy being in Newmarket at Gainsborough Stables and we've been supported very well by our owners.”
He added, “In this game you have to have a very positive outlook and always look forward.”
The imminent onset of spring will certainly provide plenty of opportunities for both father and son to do just that.
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