UNBEATEN CAMELOT CONQUERS QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS

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QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS (G1)
Newmarket, Turf, 1600m
5 May 2012

Sent off the 15-8 favorite, Derrick Smith’s unbeaten Camelot (GB)(Montjeu) duly delivered to provide his late sire with a first mile Classic win after a pulsating climax to yesterday’s G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Settled off the pace racing among the group towards the stand’s side, the G1 Racing Post Trophy hero sliced between rivals to lead with 150 yards remaining and held off French Fifteen (Fr) (Turtle Bowl) to score by a neck, with another French raider Hermival (Ire) (Dubawi) 2 1/4 lengths back in third.

“He has a lot of class and speed and I was always happy,” commented jockey Joseph O’Brien after showing panache beyond his years when steering his first English Classic winner. “He was nice and relaxed and, although I didn’t get the best of runs through and was very far back, I always felt like I was getting there. He might have got a bit tired in the last 100 yards, but it was his first start of the season, and he will be a lot better going further.”

“We knew that Camelot had a lot against him statistically, but we always thought he was very special,” trainer Aidan O’Brien said after greeting his sixth winner of the Classic. “He’s out of a Kingmambo mare who is out of a Danehill mare and has strong crosses of both of those in him as well as Montjeu, so that’s why we were worried about the soft ground. I had a view of what Joseph should do on him, as I was worried about him riding a horse for pace like that in that ground, but I’m glad I didn’t say anything now. He said he’d be closer to last than first at halfway and I’m glad I bit my tongue. I felt I destroyed St Nicholas Abbey in this race two years ago, and it’s only now that he’s starting to get his brilliance back, so I learnt a lot from that. The way it always is we go home and the lads will speak about it, but the Derby will be something to talk about. You’d imagine, the Derby would be a very suitable race for him.”

Extracts from Thoroughbred Daily News

2012 QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS PREVIEW

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2012 QIPCO 2000 Guineas with Lydia Hislop and Steve Mellish
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QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS (G1)
Newmarket, 5 May 2012

Bill Oppenheim
Thoroughbred Daily NewsBy about 10:30 in the morning this Saturday (US), the day of the G1 Kentucky Derby, the first Group 1 European Classic of the season, the G1 English 2000 Guineas, will have been run at Newmarket. You’d be forgiven for not having really known much about it. The European champion 2-year-old of 2011, Coolmore’s 8-5 favorite Camelot (Montjeu), hasn’t run this year. That’s not unusual, but what is unusual is that the ground in Europe has been soft for virtually the entire month of April. It’s going to dry out and warm up this week (thankfully), but when that happens you’re really guessing. Montjeu is a Derby sire, not a Guineas sire, and the G1 Racing Post Trophy, which Camelot won in his second and final start last year, is a Derby trial, not a Guineas trial. Camelot is no doubt a really good colt, but his price reflects as much a lack of knowledge or conviction about the competition as it does his actual chances of winning the race.

No other colt was trading at under 10-1 on Betfair on Tuesday morning, which shows you how little confidence there is in what might win if the favorite doesn’t. Second choice yesterday, at 10-1, was Born To Sea, the John Oxx-trained Invincible Spirit half-brother to Sea The Stars. He broke his maiden impressively in a six-furlong listed race in September, but then ran second in the G3 Killavullan Stakes to Nephrite, a Pivotal colt trained by Aidan O’Brien who flopped in his first start this year.

Five horses yesterday were bracketed between 12-1 and 14-1 on Betfair. Co-third favorites at 12-1 were: Trumpet Major (Arakan), impressive winner of the G3 Craven Stakes at Newmarket’s opening meeting a couple of weeks ago; Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Top Offer, a Dansili colt trained by Roger Charlton who won a seven-furlong maiden race in August impressively, but missed an intended warm-up in the G3 Greenham Stakes because of the soft ground; and Abtaal (Rock Hard Ten), trained by Jean-Claude Rouget for Sheikh Hamdan, and who ran second earlier this month in the G3 Prix Djebel at Maisons-Lafitte.

In fact, very unusually, the first three from the Djebel are running at Newmarket, and the Djebel winner, French Fifteen, from the first crop by the good French miler Turtle Bowl (a son of the obscure Night Shift horse Dyhim Diamond), would therefore have to qualify as pretty good value at 13-1.

Last year’s G1 Dewhurst Stakes, usually the top 2-year-old race in Europe, was one of those messy events in which the first five finished within two lengths of each other. Trumpet Major was fifth that day, but is a shorter price in the betting than the horses which were one-two, but which haven’t had a run this year. The Dewhurst second, Power (Oasis Dream), who won the G2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and the G1 National Stakes in Ireland, is presumably the Coolmore second string (danger!), at around 14-1. Parish Hill, the Dewhurst winner from the first crop by Teofilo, trained, like his sire, by Jim Bolger, is at 20-1. Parish Hall, by the way, is out of a Montjeu mare, so inbred 3x3 to Sadler’s Wells!

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

FRANKEL RUTHLESS IN QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS

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QIPCO 2000 GUINEAS (Grade 1)
30 April 2011

Some had cast similarities with the great Dubai Millennium (GB) prior to yesterday and Khalid Abdullah’s brilliant Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) lived up to all the hype and mass of expectation with a ruthless demonstration of galloping in the G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Frankel had hinted at something special to come during a pioneering two-year-old campaign and in his warm-up run in the G3 Greenham Stakes at Newbury two weeks ago, but few expected this unprecedented show of superiority. In front from the outset, jockey Tom Queally let the 1-2 favorite - the shortest-priced since the beaten Apalachee in 1974 - use his impressive stride and he had buried all opposition before he reached the quarter pole. Only Dubawi Gold (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Native Khan (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}) could emerge from the pack to chase after that in complete vain.

Bobby Frankel was a vital cog in the Juddmonte workings for a long time and it was always going to take an unusual specimen to be named after the hall-of- famer. From the first instance, the equine namesake showed that honor was not wasted on him and he went from a super-smooth introduction over a mile on the July Course here in August to display electric speed when following up in a seven-furlong conditions event at Doncaster September 10. Just 15 days later, he turned Ascot’s G2 Royal Lodge Stakes into a procession with a 10-length victory made even more extraordinary by a final-turn move which killed the contest. When his margin was only 2 1/4 lengths to Roderic O’Connor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes in October, it was almost an anti-climax and probably cost him the outright Juvenile Champion title which he shared with Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}).

After a perfect return in Newbury’s G3 Greenham Stakes a fortnight ago, Henry Cecil had stated at a press conference to launch the Champions’ Series this week that his colt could make his own running and that was the clearest indicator that his homework had hinted at something extraordinary to come. If his pacemaker Rerouted (Stormy Atlantic) ever actually led Frankel, it was for a matter of seconds as Tom Queally quickly established his intentions on the hot favourite which drew Frankie Dettori and Casamento (Ire) (Shamardal) into early action.

By the halfway mark, where his rider had a glance back, Godolphin’s G1 Racing Post Trophy winner was already beaten and those who had tried to stay relatively close were beginning to pay the price. His rider could not have heard anything coming inside the final quarter mile, but for safety, Frankel received some light slaps with the whip and maintained the momentum all the way to the finish.

“To win a Classic is special, and I’m glad that he did it like that, as the media were building him up to be something super-equine,” Queally added. “They were right. It would have been an anti-climax to win by a length. He loves galloping - they might have been expecting me to get cover, so I caught them on the hop. I know the horse and have a lot of confidence in him - it may have looked like I wasn’t hanging about, but he feels like he is doing it a lot steadier than he is. He showed a lot of speed today, and we learned that he is able to motor - in the last furlong he was just idling and it’s great to sit on something so great so early in my career.”

After greeting his third and most important Guineas winner, Henry Cecil added, “I think I might have actually got the plan wrong, as we had planned to kill them all with his gallop, but in the last furlong he was waiting for them,” said the conditioner, who was greeting his 25th British Classic winner and the widest-margin winner of the Guineas since Tudor Minstrel (GB) in 1947. “He had won his race and was wondering where everything else was, but we thought there was something left in the tank. Whether he’ll get a mile and a half is another matter.” Cecil continued, “It is a relief it’s gone right. He’s a very, very good horse and, while it’s difficult to compare with other generations and champions, he must be up there with them. I’ve got ideas, and we’ll sit and think and try and work it out, but he’s in the G2 Dante Stakes (at York May 12) and we’ll see how he comes out of this. We’ll leave all options open and if he’s very well, he could go there and I could easily bring him back to a mile afterwards for the G1 St James’ Palace Stakes (at Royal Ascot June 14), but I’ll discuss it with the Prince.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

FRANKEL EXPLOSIVE IN DEWHURST STAKES VICTORY

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DUBAI DEWHURST STAKES (GR1)

It was billed as a three-horse war, but it turned into a one-man show in yesterday’s Dewhurst Stakes (Gr1) at Newmarket.

Odds-on chalk Frankel (Galileo) swept to the front inside the quarter pole and strode up the hill under a hand ride to best Roderic O’Connor (Galileo) by 2 1/4 lengths.

The unbeaten Frankel had raced keenly through the early strides following trouble leaving the gate, but picked up impressively, causing winning jockey Tom Queally to comment, “He’s a superstar, and he’s done it when it mattered. He’s something very special.”

First coming to attention when winning a mile maiden on soft ground at Newmarket’s July course on debut 13 August, Frankel showed what he was really capable of when he strolled home by 13 lengths from subsequent Prix Marcel Boussac (Gr1) third Rainbow Springs (Selkirik) in a Doncaster conditions event on his next outing 10 September.

The homebred stunned the crowd at Ascot on his last run, quickening clear at the quarter pole to destroy his rivals in the Royal Lodge Stakes (Gr2) by 10 lengths.

With news emanating from Newmarket of a spectacular piece of work last Saturday, further improvement seemed possible, and he was sent postward as a strong favorite despite the ground apparently softening in favor of his main market rival and dual Group 1 winner Dream Ahead (Diktat). Squeezed out as he broke from the stalls, the eventual winner pulled for his head at the rear of the field as Roderic O’Connor towed them through the early stages.

Queally allowed the muscular bay to stride on up to the leaders at the two-furlong marker, and his whip was not deployed as Frankel took it up 100 yards later before running on strongly to the line. Queally explained, “He received a bump leaving the stalls and it set him alight, whereas at Ascot he put his head down and relaxed, but he quickened up well and put the race to bed. Probably on the ground he wandered off a true line, but we’ll forgive him that.”

Trainer Henry Cecil, taking this prestigious contest for the first time since Diesis in 1982, opined, “In his work he’s very relaxed, but when you get a nasty bump like that, it makes a difference and it set him alight. He won well and Tom didn’t need to hit him with the whip. It was lovely. I have to thank the Prince (Khalid Abdullah) for sending him to me.” Regarding plans for next year, the veteran conditioner said, “I’m hopeful that he will make a 2000 Guineas (Gr1) horse and maybe the St James’ Palace (Gr1); whether he will get further, we’ll have to see, and I’ll need to talk to the Prince about that.”

The owner’s racing manager, Teddy Grimthorpe, expressed the view that his targets were not yet set in stone. “I think that we’re not going to dismiss the Epsom Derby (Gr1) lightly. He’ll go straight to the 2000 Guineas and we’ll see how he develops over the winter. The Guineas is the first part, and the second part will obviously be the issue. The Derby is a very important race for all concerned, and we’ll have to look at him in the spring. Henry will be the best judge of that, and he’s likely to have an extensive programme as a three-year-old.” Frankel is a general even-money favourite with British bookmakers for the 2000 Guineas, and trades as the 3-1 favorite for the Epsom Derby.

Aidan O’Brien, trainer of the runner-up, reflected, “He set a nice sensible gallop, and he’s very straightforward. Everything’s open to him.” A disappointed David Simcock said of the previously unbeaten Dream Ahead, “It might have just come too quick for him, he just never picked up.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

THE KENTUCKY DERBY, 2000 GUINEAS AND 1000 GUINEAS

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(Left) Super Saver - Kentucky Derby 2010 (Photo : CTV)
(Right) Makfi - StanJames.com 2000 Guineas (Photo : Telegraph)
(Footage : YouTube)

“ANOTHER WILD WEEKEND”
By Bill Oppenheim

Bill Oppenheim TDNWe have to start with the G1 Kentucky Derby, of course, as it’s “America’s greatest race,” a claim not made for the G1 English 2000 Guineas. There were some really satisfying aspects to Super Saver’s win: WinStar has been a big contributor to the business the last 10 years; Todd Pletcher, arguably the leading trainer in America and certainly one of the best-dressed and coolest, got a Kentucky Derby win; and what else is there to say about Calvin Bo-Rail’s third Derby win in the last four years? He owns that racetrack, or at least the rail. Plenty of commentators thought his ride made the difference between defeat and victory. The colt has a pedigree, too. So that’s all good.

But let’s not kid ourselves: it wasn’t the greatest Derby ever run. The winner returned a Beyer figure of 104, only Giacomo (100 in the 2005 Derby) has run a lower number to win the race since Andy Beyer and his team started publishing their numbers in the Daily Racing Form nearly 20 years ago. After Conveyance (Indian Charlie) led through the first three-quarters in a shade under 1:10:3/5, Super Saver (Maria’s Mon) was in fourth, 6 1/2 lengths back; so he had run 1:11.4/5 for the first six furlongs. The final time of 2:04.2/5 tells us that Super Saver ran the last half mile in 0:52.3/5 seconds, with a final quarter in 0:26.2/5. Those are slow times, that’s all there is to it. It looked like a moderate field going into the race, which as everybody could see was contested in appalling slop, and it looks like a moderate field coming out of it, though, as I say, no one begrudges WinStar and Todd Pletcher their Derby wins.

Plenty of horses couldn’t handle the conditions: seven horses were beaten between 30-60 lengths, though three of those (Conveyance, Sidney’s Candy, and Line of David), were the first three after the first half-mile.

British hope Awesome Act may have worked great in the mud earlier in the week, but he eventually struggled home, beating one, eased up and covered in mud. Don’t think he fancied it, and came out of the race lame according to connections.

There were plenty more hard-luck stories, but the sorriest sight of all was seeing Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike) herded into the fence by Stately Victor (Ghostzapper) before they’d gone a quarter mile. He was completely out of the race from that moment, and I reckon ran almost a winning race to finish sixth, as did G1 Florida Derby hero Ice Box (Pulpit), who rallied from next to last to run an eye-catching second. Paddy O’Prado ran on well to be third, and Make Music for Me came from dead last to finish fourth. Noble’s Promise, in fifth, and Dublin, in seventh, also ran good races, though all but the winner ran Beyers in the ‘nineties’. I can see why Zito reckons he might wait on the G1 Belmont Stakes with Ice Box, but the next five, at least, have every right to have another go at Super Saver in the G1 Preakness Stakes. He may have Borel back, but that may or may not be quite the same as having Borel at Churchill.

The two English Guineas races, the G1 2000 Guineas for colts on Saturday and the G1 1000 Guineas for fillies on Sunday, weren’t exactly straightforward either.

Of course, if you were thinking Calvin Borel at Churchill Downs, you might have been thinking Dubawi for Europe.

There was a Dubawi in the English 2000 and guess what, he won! This was Makfi, who had been bought off Sheikh Hamdan for 26,000gns at last October’s Horses in Training Sale in Newmarket, won a race at Fontainebleau for new trainer Mikel Delzangles in November, and came back to win the G3 Prix Djebel in April. He is now three-for-three lifetime after working his way through the pack for a 1 1/4-length victory over the Richard Hannon-trained one-two from the G3 Greenham Stakes, Dick Turpin (Arakan) and Canford Cliffs (Tagula). The first nine finished within four lengths of each other, and the winner posted a respectable Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 123. Being that he’s undefeated, we don’t know how much better Makfi might be, but one thing for sure, Dubawi is for real. That’s his second Guineas win this spring, after Worthadd’s win in the G3 Premio Paroli (Italian 2000 Guineas), and he has a very live contender for the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in 10 days’ time in Anna Salai, winner of the G3 Prix de la Grotte. Makfi may next appear in Royal Ascot’s G1 St James’s Palace Stakes in June.

The weekend’s final Classic was Sunday’s G1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, and this, too, had a weird result, for three reasons. First, the winner, lukewarm favorite Special Duty (Hennessy), was awarded the race in the stewards’ room after losing by a nose to the 66-1 shot Jacqueline Quest (Rock of Gibraltar). Special Duty’s trainer, Criquette Head, had already congratulated Jacqueline Quest’s trainer, Henry Cecil, when Henry said to her, hold on, you might get the race. Sure enough, when you saw the head on, Jacqueline Quest had carried the winner halfway across the racetrack, bumped her, and definitely intimidated her. The stewards decided the second had lost more ground than she’d been beaten by through the interference, and rightly reversed the placings. The second odd thing about the English 1000 was that there appeared to be a definite track bias, in that the first five horses home had raced on the stands’ side, and it looked about three lengths faster than the far side. It had rained Saturday night into Sunday, and it seemed there was an unused strip on the stands’ rail that was much faster. Connections of the first two home on the far side, G3 Nell Gwyn winner Music Show and Newmarket Stakes winner Rumoush, were entitled to feel aggrieved, since, if the field had all raced together they might conceivably have finished one-two. And the third unsatisfactory aspect to the race was that the first two clocked a slow RPR rating, just 111.

Special Duty had run 117 when she won last season’s six-furlong G1 Cheveley Park Stakes, so it looks as though some combination of the mile trip and the softer ground resulted in her running a good way below her best, even though she ultimately won. What was not impressive about the weekend results was that three of the four Classics came back with pretty slow speed figures for the winners: Beyers of 94 for the Kentucky Oaks and 104 for the Kentucky Derby, and an RPR of 111 for the 1000 Guineas. Only Makfi’s RPR of 123 for the 2000 Guineas would qualify as even within the average range for Classic winners. The message from the speed boys would be crystal clear for the connections of anything aspiring to Classic standard this year: go for it.

They’re nice horses, no doubt about it; you’d be happy to have them in your barn. But no worldbeaters have shown their hands as yet after the first round of this year’s three-year-old Classics.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News