Aidan O’Brien goes in search of his seventh English 2,000 Guineas on Saturday, the master Irish trainer’s Gleneagles dominating the betting for the first classic of the season.
With the tears barely dry from jump jockey legend Tony McCoy’s emotional retirement party at Sandown last weekend the focus switches abruptly to Newmarket.
Springtime at the historic headquarters of British racing has already proved fertile ground for O’Brien, who first landed the colt’s classic with King Of Kings in 1998.
Rock of Gibraltar hit the Guineas bulls-eye for the Ballydoyle handler four years later, with Footstepsinthesand (2005), George Washington (2006), Henrythenavigator (2008) and Camelot in 2012 following.
Gleneagles looks perfect Guineas material, as suggested by his impeccable breeding — his sire is 2001 Epsom Derby winner and outstanding stallion Galileo — and his seductive two-year-old race record.
Since a debut fourth at the Curragh Gleneagles hasn’t put a foot wrong, winning his next five races, although he lost the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend in the stewards room for interference.
“Gleneagles is in good form and this is his trip. We took him to the Curragh for a canter and he’s been in grand form since then,” O’Brien told reporters.
Partnered by former British flat champion jockey Ryan Moore, Gleneagles will be joined by stablemate Ol’ Man River, with the trainer’s son, Joseph, back in the saddle after a battle with his weight.
British bookmaker Betfred’s Andrew Griffiths told The Racing Post: “The race revolves around Gleneagles and it will be interesting to see if he’s all he’s cracked up to be.
“He’s been reasonably easy to back for the last few days with punters leaning more towards his stablemate Ol’ Man River.”
French hopes are doubly represented by Prix Djebel scorer Ride Like The Wind, and the promising Territories, out to supply his trainer Andre Fabre with only his second 2,000 winner, 20 years after Pennekamp.
Territories, who turns up with a pleasing prep under his belt, was just over half a length behind Gleneagles at Longchamp after getting bumped in the closing stages.
Fabre, who supplemented his promising colt for the race at a cost of £30,000 (41,000 euros) on Monday, and supporters of the French raider have backed him down to as low as 5-1 second favourite.
“Territories has come out of his trial very well and has come on for the run,” Fabre told the website of owners Godolphin.
“He is a horse who prefers genuinely good ground. He is more likely to get his favoured ground conditions at Newmarket than at Longchamp a week later.”
Estidhkaar represents the powerful Richard Hannon stable.
A best priced 7-1 he advertised his claims with a close up second in the Greenham, the Newbury Guineas trial which counts the mighty Frankel among its past winners.
The unexposed Intilaaq, another late addition to the Guineas mix after impressing with a runaway success in his warm-up, could prove the pick of the rest.
The forecast fast ground at Newmarket looks set to rob the occasion of another leading contender, Andrew Balding’s Elm Park.