2000 Guineas

Jeff Smith's unbeaten G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. winner Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is pleasing trainer Clive Cox in his early preparation towards a potential start in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas back at the Rowley Mile. "He's done really well, he had a super break and he's been back cantering for three or four weeks," Cox said. "We're thrilled with the way he's developed over the winter, he's looking even stronger. "We were delighted with the campaign we enjoyed with him last year and we're all looking forward to...

High-class juvenile Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is likely to begin his three-year-old campaign with a run in the G1 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday, May 4 according to trainer Adrian Murray. Bucanero Fuerte won three of his five starts as a two-year-old in the familiar colours of Amo Racing, producing his best effort when easily winning the G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh by four lengths from the subsequent G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio). On the sidelines since finishing well held in the...

It's a heady time of year to be on Newmarket Heath of a Saturday morning. You can tell by the convoy of smart cars when one of the big strings is about to arrive at the Al Bahathri, with Guineas weekend providing the perfect opportunity for owners to watch their horses work.  This past Saturday, either 2,000 Guineas day, Kentucky Derby day, or Coronation day, depending on your persuasion, was no exception. With the car park double-stacked and trainers and jockeys all about, Joe Foley, waiting for the off with...

Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}), one of Juddmonte Farms' Classic hopes for the season, has been ruled out of the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas as well as its Irish and French equivalents. "Nostrum has had a little setback and he will not run in any of the Guineas," said Juddm0nte's racing manager Barry Mahon. "He just needs a couple of weeks going easy, then hopefully we will have him back for the middle of the summer. "We'll just let him tell us. I suppose we will aim for Royal Ascot and if...

Aidan O'Brien has nominated Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the ante-post favourite for the 2000 Guineas and the Derby, as being the horse who is most capable of emulating Nijinsky by winning the Triple Crown this season.  If successful, Auguste Rodin would bridge a 53-year gap, and complete a long-held ambition for the master of Ballydoyle, who came agonisingly close to achieving the feat with Camelot (GB) in 2013. Auguste Rodin is understood to have come out of an exercise gallop at the Curragh racecourse on Saturday in good...

Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}), one of the most exciting horses in Britain, is likely to have a prep run for the 2000 Guineas in the Greenham S. at Newbury next month, his trainer Andrew Balding has revealed.  A general 8-1 chance for Guineas glory, Juddmonte's Chaldean will be bidding to chart the same path to victory as his sire Frankel, who took the Greenham before turning in one of the most memorable performances of all time in the Newmarket Classic.  Balding is no stranger to Guineas success himself. In 2020,...

The royal colours, which will now be carried by horses under the joint ownership of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Consort, could be seen in Classic action on the day of the King's Coronation. The John and Thady Gosden-trained Slipofthepen (GB), a son of Night Of Thunder (Ire) who was bred by the late Queen, has been given an entry for the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas. Out of the 95-rated Free Verse (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), the colt is a fifth-generation homebred and won his sole...

Off the back of a star-studded season, No Nay Never will stand for €175,000 in 2023, which represents a €50,000 rise, while his dual Group 1-winning son Blackbeard (Ire) will join him on the Coolmore roster next year at a price of €25,000. No Nay Never has had an exceptional year. Older filly Alcohol Free (Ire) landed the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, but it has been his Coolmore-owned and Aidan O'Brien-trained juveniles that have set tongues wagging this term. Like his father, Blackbeard landed the G1 Prix Morny in...

Former world champion 3-year-old Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) (Danehill--Offshore Boom {GB}, by Be My Guest) has died from heart failure at Castlehyde Stud in Ireland at the age of 23. The son of Danehill was bred by the late Joe Crowley with his daughter Annemarie and son-in-law Aidan O'Brien. He was sent into training with the latter at Ballydoyle as a juvenile in 2001, later racing for the partnership of Sir Alex Ferguson and Susan Magnier. Rock Of Gibraltar's sensational racing career, which saw him land seven consecutive Group 1...

Two legends of Irish racing will join forces for the first time this season after Jim Bolger revealed that he has a 2-year-old filly by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) in training with Kevin Prendergast. Bolger gave €31,000 for the recently named Roman Moon (Ire) after Prendergast recommended the filly at the Goffs Orby Sale last September and she is set to break new ground by becoming his first runner with the Friarstown operator. Roman Moon will carry the white and purple colours of Bolger's wife Jackie, once carried to major...

Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), the short-priced favourite for the Cazoo Derby, is not certain to line up at Epsom after meeting with a setback, Aidan O'Brien has revealed. Third in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket last Saturday, Luxembourg had been a general 2-1 chance for Derby glory before O'Brien revealed the news to the Racing Post on Friday. He said, "Luxembourg was a little bit off after his canter this morning. He was a little lame on his off-hind." O'Brien added, "We are not sure of the reason why at...

Less than a fortnight after it was announced that legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast would remain on the Shadwell roster, the 89-year-old operator confirmed that he was not the retiring kind and spoke for the first time since Hamdan Al Maktoum's passing about his long and successful relationship with the hugely influential owner. The Shadwell operation has been winding down gradually since Hamdan Al Maktoum passed away just over a year ago and, while major operators like Dermot Weld and Sir Michael Stoute will no longer train any of the horses...