At a little over 200 years old, the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket is a mere whippersnapper compared to the two other colts’ Classics in Britain, the St Leger and the Derby, but its proud boast is that it is the first Classic of the year, run on the first Saturday in May. In a matter of days, the rumours, opinions and arguments that have been bandied throughout the winter will become cemented into fact when, just after 3.15pm on Saturday, 2 May, we learn the identity of the 201st winner of the 2,000 Guineas but, as the countdown continues, there’s still time for us to run the slide rule over some well-credentialled Darley-sired hopefuls.
Impeccably-bred and the subject of recent upbeat bulletins is Cheveley Park Stud’s Evasive, a colt by Elusive Quality out of Canda,by Storm Cat daughter of East Of The Moon, a G1-winning half-sister to Kingmambo and thus a grand-daughter of the great Miesque. Evasive first turned heads when winning a Newmarket maiden in some style in October, a victory he built on with success in the G3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury three weeks later. Evasive has not been seen in a formal trial but he will no doubt be produced in exemplary fashion by his five-times Guineas-winning trainer Sir Michael Stoute, who sent out King’s Best to win in 2000.
Trainer Marcus Tregoning went close to landing the Guineas with his subsequent Derby winner Sir Percy (Mark Of Esteem) and he will be hoping that Finjaan, a Sheikh Hamdan-owned son of Royal Applause, can go one better. The pedigree of the robust dark brown colt certainly hints at sprinting honours – he is out of Alhufoof, by Dayjur, and he won the five-furlong G3 Molecomb Stakes last term – but he subsequently posted an admirable run in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes, beaten two noses when third to Intense Focus, a performance which gives optimism on his return to the Rowley Mile.
Sayif, by last year’s leading first-season sire Kheleyf, must go down as one of the most talented two-year-old maidens of all time: in 2008, he was beaten a short-head in the G2 July Stakes, finished third in both the G2 Vintage Stakes and the G2 Mill Reef Stakes and then runner-up to Bushranger in the G1 Shadwell Middle Park Stakes. After this illustrious string of placed performances, the Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained colt shed his maiden tag on his seasonal reappearance at Leicester on 9 April and it is now full steam ahead for his Classic target.
Of all the entrants in this year’s 2,000 Guineas, the one most likely to draw the attention of pedigree purists in the pre-parade ring will be Sea The Stars, a Cape Cross half-brother to Galileo out of the Arc winning-mare Urban Sea, who has excelled at stud as the producer of eight Stakes winners. The chestnut daughter of Miswaki died earlier this year at the age of 20. A Classic victory from Christopher Tsui's homebred Sea the Stars would be a fitting tribute to this extraordinary matron.
As Cape Cross has already sired the outstanding dual Oaks winner Ouija Board, Sea The Stars has naturally received plenty of support for the Derby, too. Form students will know only too well that the Guineas is often held up to be one of the best Derby trials and it’s worth remembering that, in recent years, both Sir Percy and New Approach have run second in the race before marching on to glory at Epsom.
But before we fast-forward to June, there’s also the matter of some rather fine fillies, who will contest the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket 24 hours after the colts have strutted their stuff.
Once again, Elusive Quality, who stands in Kentucky and shuttles to Australia, is well represented in Europe. Nell Gwyn runner-up Damaniyat Girl is set to line up alongside Darley’s homebred UAE Oaks winner Devotee. Elusive Quality also has one of the favourites for the Kentucky Derby, Quality Road, who will have been put to the test just hours beforehand in the Run For The Roses.
Clive Brittain has had a great run of success with the offspring of Darley Japan stallion Diktat, most notably via his Group One-winning daughter Rajeem, and his recent Yarmouth maiden winner Wadaat, a half-sister to Singspiel's Listed-placed daughter Mrs Snow, is another with the Rowley Mile in her sights.
When winning the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes last season, Serious Attitude (pictured) not only gave pensioned Darley sire Mtoto another taste of top-flight success but also the first at Group One level for Cape Cross as a broodmare sire, his daughter Zameyla being responsible for this thoroughly tough and admirable filly. Like Rainbow View, the Champion two-year-old filly of 2008, the Paddy Twomey-bred Serious Attitude was also unbeaten at two and presents a serious chance of Classic success for trainer Rae Guest and owner Derek Willis.
