Saturday's G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas hosts the customary heavyweights of the previous year's scene, with the likes of Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Van Gogh (American Pharoah), One Ruler (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) all bringing Group 1 form to the table, but in the year that racing lost Sheikh Hamdan could there be a sense of destiny in the inclusion of the unproven 'TDN Rising Star' Mutasaabeq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire})? As far as visual impressions go, there is hardly any other in this line-up that can match his emphatic six-length success in a conditions race over seven furlongs on similarly fast ground at the Craven meeting here on Apr. 13. Only Aidan O'Brien and Charlie Appleby know the merit of the dismissal of their colts Noble Dynasty (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Duke of Mantua (Ire) (No Nay Never) in that select contest, but the latter came into it with solid form and was readily put in his place. Like his father Barry, Charlie Hills is not a trainer for tilting at windmills and it is significant that he, Jim Crowley and the team at Shadwell are in unison in wanting to test the son of the 2009 G1 1000 Guineas heroine Ghanaati (Giant's Causeway) here.
It is clear from Charlie's comments that the homebred has forced their hand. “We were trying to nurse him through his career, but his ability has got him where he is now,” he revealed. “Winning by six lengths is nice to see, but did it surprise me? Possibly not. He was working with the very nice horses at home and worked well with them. He's only had two runs, but they've both been at Newmarket so he's got more experience than most on a course like that. Jim came and sat on him on Wednesday and said he felt very relaxed and in good shape. It goes without saying he becomes a very valuable proposition should he win a Guineas, being out of a Guineas winner.”
Another who left a lasting imprint with a dynamic display is Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez's fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Thunder Moon and his moment of “wow” came at the highest level. Impressive on his winning debut over seven furlongs at The Curragh in August, the descendant of Moyglare's esteemed matriarch Trusted Partner (Affirmed) really took the eye when dashing by Wembley, St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Lucky Vega in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. over that same course and distance in September. That is arguably the strongest piece of juvenile form on this type of surface from 2020 and there is every chance that connections' assertion that soft ground was his undoing when subsequently third in the G1 Dewhurst S. here the following month was correct.
Joseph O'Brien said he is happy to see contrasting conditions on his return. “In the Dewhurst, we would have preferred better ground and a better draw. We thought better ground and a better draw would have helped us get closer and we're hoping that might happen at the weekend,” he said. “He travelled well and quickened up well, but just got run out of it. This race has been the plan, he's going in good shape, we're happy with the draw and we're looking forward to the race. He's always shown a lot of pace, he has a big turn of foot which he showed on the track last year and he's working satisfactorily at home. We're excited, we think he's the right type for the race–he's a mature, pacey type and we think a mile is a good trip for him.”
In the National, Master of the Seas was in front and looking in command a furlong from home before getting swamped by the O'Brien trio. He is favoured by William Buick over One Ruler (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and will bid to complete the Apr. 15 G3 Craven S.-Guineas double from stall two. His previous form from the July meeting's G2 Superlative S. ties in closely with one of the Ballydoyle clan in Battleground (War Front) and he is race-hardened this spring having run in Dubai and won the all-important trial, the course-and-distance G3 Craven S. Apr. 15. While he has to improve on that to win this, it is significant that William Buick has cast his vote his way over the fellow Charlie Appleby-trained G1 Futurity Trophy runner-up One Ruler (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was a major mover in the ante-post market following his racecourse gallop at the Craven meeting.
Appleby gave some insight into the duo on Friday. “They're two different types of horses. Master of the Seas is a very honest traveller on the bridle, whereas One Ruler is a horse who warms into his race,” he explained. “I'm delighted with the way Master of the Seas has come out of the Craven. He's shown us his wellness during the week–William sat on him on Wednesday and was pleased with him. He ticks a lot of the boxes going into the weekend. We're taking on the same conditions as in the Craven in terms of it's going to be quick ground again. We know he handles that and handles the track and he saw the trip out well, so I always felt it was going to be hard for William to get off him. I'm excited to see One Ruler have his first start as a 3-year-old. The two horses have got different running styles, but in respect of the calibre of each horse, I think they're hard to split.”
One of the intriguing runners is Ballydoyle's true blueblood Van Gogh (American Pharoah), who bids to break new ground as the first son of the Triple Crown hero to win a British Classic. Like Mutasaabeq, he is a son of his stud's royalty with his dam Imagine (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) being the 2001 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Epsom Oaks heroine. That is almost back to where it all started for the current captain of Ballydoyle and has a sense of ancient history, but American Pharoah seems to have re-lit a flame judged by the prolific progress of Van Gogh last term. Second to One Ruler in the G3 Autumn S. over this track and trip before taking the G1 Criterium International in imperious fashion in the space of a fortnight in October, he received a recent boost when Policy of Truth (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) who was fourth at Saint-Cloud came back to win the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau.
Van Gogh has forced his way into this line-up, with Derby trials being talked of earlier in the year, and he is far from a third-string behind Wembley and Battleground according to Aidan O'Brien. “You can make very strong cases for them all–they all have their pluses and minuses,” he said. “I'd say it would be a very hard one to split. Van Gogh ran on fastish ground early on and finished at Saint-Cloud on very soft-to-heavy ground. I think it's just the way the season worked out and the way the ground was. He's a good-moving horse and we always thought he'd get further than a mile.”
Also on Saturday, Newmarket stage a wide-open renewal of the five-furlong G3 Betfair Palace House S. and the G2 Betfair Exchange Jockey Club S., with the latter seeing a fascinating clash between the established top-level performer Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) and Shadwell's up-and-coming Al Zaraqaan (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) who looked ready for this step up in class when winning Kempton's Rosebery H. Mar. 27. The latter's trainer William Haggas also combines with the operation's Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the Listed Betfair Newmarket S. over the same course and distance of his impressive handicap win at the Craven meeting on Apr. 14.
Saint-Cloud's public holiday meeting sees the 10 1/2-furlong G2 Prix Greffulhe and G3 Prix Cleopatre for G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Prix de Diane aspirants, with Gestut Schlenderhan's impressive Apr. 6 12-furlong maiden course winner Martial Eagle (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}) a potential improver in the former contest and the Wertheimers' G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner-up Tasmania (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}) setting the standard in the latter. The card's feature is the G2 Prix du Muguet over a mile, where last year's G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. hero The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is met by Godolphin's returning G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner and G1 Prix du Jockey Club third Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal). The latter could be in for a big year if he can overcome a tendency to start slowly which almost certainly cost him in the Chantilly Classic. Godolphin's Lisa-Jane Graffard said, “Victor Ludorum is in good form and this looks a nice starting point for the year. We are looking forward to seeing how he gets on and this will hopefully indicate where to go next with him.”
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