While the 2017 2,000 Guineas may still seem an awfully long time away, our live ante-post market is already witnessing plenty of activity. Let’s take a look at the 3 horses that are leading the betting, all of which are trained by Aidan O’Brien.
Churchill
Sired by Galileo and out of Meow, he’s won each of the 5 black-type races that followed his debut at the Curragh where he finished 3rd. The last 2 successes were at G1 level, including most notably victory in the Dewhurst Stakes. The form of that race didn’t work out so well last season though, to say the very least, but punters seem convinced that Churchill will be the main one that O’Brien takes to the battlefield at Headquarters.
Caravaggio
Lightly raced as a juvenile and unbeaten in all 4 encounters, Caravaggio thrust himself into the spotlight when crushing Richard Hannon’s highly-rated Mehmas in the Coventry Stakes. That win put the Scat Daddy colt on a different planet than anything he lined-up against in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh. His easy victory there told us little, but this one could well offer punters the best ante-post value given the enormous potential he has shown.
War Decree
O’Brien gave War Decree an even easier time of it, as a 2-year-old. A straight-forward enough win on debut at Leopardstown was followed by defeat at the hands of Boynton in the Superlative Stakes. The War Front colt bounced back and reversed that form in the Vintage Stakes, but he has yet to even race in G1 company and still looks some way behind both Churchill and Caravaggio.
Bet On The 2017 2,000 Guineas Now!Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket is in Suffolk and about 40 miles from Central London. More horses are trained at Newmarket than anywhere else, in Great Britain. It is also the most important horse breeding place in the country. Many still consider Newmarket as the centre of world racing and it is here that horse racing was born.
As well as having a pair of full-sized race tracks, Newmarket is home to fifty training stables for horses. It is estimated that there are over three thousand racehorses, in the town. One third of the local population, who are of working age, make their living in the equine industry.
Surrounding the town are around sixty different stud farms. Horse racing is woven into the very fabric of Newmarket life. Nearly everybody rides and you will see horses everywhere – in fields, on the streets and in thousands of transporter-trailers. While previously an unimportant village, Newmarket’s fortunes changed when King James I first visited and established it as a royal resort.
Newmarket Group 1 Races
There are 32 G1 races that are held in Great Britain, in each calendar year. Of these, nine are held at Newmarket and comprise the 2,000 Guineas, the 1,000 Guineas, the Cheveley Park Stakes, the Dewhurst Stakes, the Fillies’ Mile, the Middle Park Stakes and the Sun Chariot Stakes.
Of these, the 2,000 Guineas and 1,000 Guineas are by far the most important, as they are two of the five ‘classic’ races, to be held in the UK, each year.
Bet On The 2017 2,000 Guineas Now!
