Fans were treated to a barnstorming weekend of group racing at Newmarket, alongside some competitive big field handicaps. In the 2024 2000 Guineas City Of Troy went of 4/6 Favourite for trainer Aiden O'Brien and in the 1000 Guineas Fallen Angel was the 100/30 favourite, trained by Karl Burke.
City Of Troy is following a trend of many Justify colts, having an exceptional 2-year-old campaign but not improving when turning 3. City Of Troy had a sparkling 2-year-old campaign winning all 3 of his starts, including Group 1 success in the Dewhurst at Newmarket in October 2023. The O'Brien yard were confident in their horse's ability in the run up to the race. Therefore, we can assume the belief is that City Of Troy does not have the Justify colt curse. Aiden O'Brien had this to say in an interview with Racing Post:
“He’ll get better as he stretches out. We’ll have to see what happens after the Guineas but, all being well, I believe the lads are thinking at the moment of going for the Derby.”
15:35 - Qipco 2000 Guineas Stakes (Group 1)
Finishing Order
Notable Speech, Rosallion, Haatem, Ghostwriter, Alyanaabi, Inisherin, Task Force, Ten Bob Tony, City Of Troy, Night Raider, Iberian
Race Analysis
1st - Notable Speech 16/1
Jumped out stalls well and ran in rear throughout, Made smooth ground from 3f out. Took lead at 1f out, kept on well until line hanging slightly right. Won well by 1 1/2 lengths
2nd - Rosallion 15/2
Ran on the heels of leaders, made ground when 3f out, led soon after at 2f from the finish, headed when ridden 1f out, stayed on well for second by no match for the winner.
3rd - Haatem 16/1
Pressed leaders from the start, started getting outpaced when 1f from the finish, no match for first 2 but ran well and stayed on well.
4th - Ghostwriter 14/1
Slow out the stalls and clipped heels soon after leaving the stalls, made progress to be in behind the leaders, soon outpaced 3f, unbalanced when hitting the dip at 1f out, Soon rallied and kept on for 4th.
5th - Alyanaabi 11/1
Took keen hold, on heals of leaders throughout, ran in near side of the group when outpaced 2f out from finish, Kept on well.
6th - Inisherin 40/1
Another who took keen hold, headed from 2f out and soon outpaced after, no extra towards the finish.
7th - Task Force 16/1
Also took keen hold, held up at rear of the field, made smooth progress to be in touch with leaders 3f out, no extra from over 1f out.
8th - Ten Bob Tony 40/1
Slow start, in touch with leaders, weakened well out from the finish and finished 11 1/2 lengths down.
9th - City Of Troy 4/5 Fav
Took lead and ran keen, no response when ridden and lost ground from 3f out, weakened suddenly 2f out (Trainer's rep said, regarding poor form shown, that colt became tired on his seasonal reappearance in a strongly run race)
10th - Night Raider
Pulled hard throughout, ran close to pace but weakened quickly 3f out, looked unbalanced from 2f out finished tailed off, finished 29 lengths of winner.
11th - Iberian 33/1
Ran freely and keen when in touch with leaders no near side of the group, weakened suddenly 3f out and finished well tailed off when coming in 42 lengths down.
William Buick is a very talented jockey who has won almost everything including last year's Jockey Title, but this was only his first Guineas success and Charlie Appleby's second 2000 Guineas success after he won in 2022 with Coroebus. This was also owners Godolphin 5th success in this race. Looking like they have another very smart colt on their hands.
15:40 - Qipco 1000 Guineas Stakes (Group 1)
Finishing order
Elmalka, Porta Fortuna, Ramatuelle, Tamfana, Ylang Ylang, Rolica, Cinderella's Dream, Fallen Angel, Dance Sequence, Pretty Crystal, Regal Jubilee, See The Fire, Sacred Angel, Darnation, Star Style, Star Music
Race Analysis
1st - Elmalka 28/1
Raced in last throughout when starting slow, Ridden and made smooth progress from 2f out, got unbalanced in the dip 1f out from finish, picked up again to lead on the line by a neck.
2nd - Porta Fortuna 11/1
Ran in the midfield, smooth headway to be in touch with leaders 2f out from the finish, went second 1f out then ridden for more 1f out, pressed leaders and kept on to lose by a neck.
3rd - Ramatuelle 9/2
Ran keen, prominent throughout race, took lead from 2f from the finish, lost 2 places with final 100 yards to finish 3rd.
4th - Tamfana 33/1
Travelled very well, held up out the rear, caught in a box when looking for room 3f out, lost position and left herself with plenty to do soon switched left at 2f pole and ran on very well for fourth, eyecatcher (jockey said filly was denied a clear run)
5th - Ylang Ylang 5/1
Towards rear throughout,pressed leaders 3f out, stayed on when switched right final furlong.
6th - Rolica 50/1
Puller hard when short of room early on when towards rear, cruised through and made headway 2f out, running midfield when getting unbalanced in the dip 1f out, kept on but no match for runners ahead.
7th - Cinderella's Dream 12/1
Ran in midfield, in touch at halfway, kept on at one pace, went down by 4 lengths.
8th - Fallen Angel 100/30 Fav
Ran up on the pace, Prominet at halfway, hung left at 2f out from the finish, carried right when having no extra pace final furlong.
9th - Dance Sequence 13/2
Ran up on the pace, prominent at 3f out, hung right inside final furlong and weakened out of contention.
10th - Pretty Crytal 33/1
Ran in the midfield throughout, made headway 2f out, weakened soon after at 1f pole, finished 9 lengths down.
11th - Regal Jubilee 28/1
Ran on heels of leaders, short of room at 2f out and weakened soon after.
12th - See The Fire 15/2
In touch with leaders, weakened at 2f out, never competitive.
13th - Sacred Angel 33/1
Ran keenly early on, prominent, weakened quickly from 2f out.
14th - Darnation 25/1
Prominent at the start, Struggled and outpaced halfway, weakened 3f out and soon hung right.
15th - Star Style 25/1
Took keen hold, led early on, headed and soon weakened quickly 2f out, eased towards finish.
16th - Star Music 150/1
Ran on heels of leaders early on, weakened at halfway never competitive, eased final furlong.
This was Silvestre De Sousa first classic success after making a comeback to British horse racing this season after being banned for 10 months by Hong Kong authorities for being found guilty of betting charges. This was also trainer Roger Varian's first 1000 Guineas success always good to see new trainers winning these big races. Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum experienced his first success in this race. We experienced a weekend where we had many big priced winners and some major shocks. Congratulations to all connections of all the winners on the weekend.
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