Racing:AIDAN O'BRIEN'S budding superstar St Nicholas Abbey is set to start a red-hot favourite for Saturday's Newmarket 2,000 Guineas, but will have to defy modern Classic history if he is to take the first step towards a possible Triple-Crown season.
The unbeaten Montjeu colt wound up a brilliant two-year-old campaign with a hugely impressive defeat of Elusive Pimpernel in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster over a mile last October.
However, it is 38 years since High Top became the last colt to win that race and then go on to follow up in the Newmarket Guineas. In the intervening time, juvenile champions such as Celtic Swing (1995) and the 4 to 9 Apalachee (1974) have been beaten in the Guineas and, instead, the Racing Post has become a reliable guide to future Derby winners.
High Chaparral, Motivator and Authorzied have all gone on to win at Epsom in the last decade while another statistic against St Nicholas Abbey will be that none of Aidan O’Brien’s five previous Guineas winners had won over a mile as juveniles.
Nevertheless, there seems to be growing confidence in St Nicholas Abbey’s chance of bucking the trends and he was yesterday trading as a general 6 to 4 favourite with many bookmakers.
O’Brien still has three other entries alongside St Nicholas Abbey ahead of today’s forfeit stage and the champion trainer said yesterday: “All of them (Viscount Nelson, Fencing Master and Fighting Brave) will all be left in and then we will see what happens. Everything is okay with them at the moment.”
Some bookmakers are already offering 14 to 1 odds about St Nicholas Abbey completing the Triple Crown of Guineas, Derby and St Leger that was last completed by a former Ballydoyle resident, Nijinsky, 40 years ago.
One man fancying his chances of upsetting the Irish party at Newmarket, however, is John Dunlop. He will attempt to fill the one gap in his British Classic CV with this season’s Craven Stakes winner Elusive Pimpernel.
The veteran trainer has outlined hopes for how his colt will reverse Doncaster form with St Nicholas Abbey.
“Three things give me hope. The day he was beaten at Doncaster it was very soft which didn’t suit him. And he does like a strongly-run race which he didn’t get. Those two factors can be improved. In addition he has developed particularly well from two to three. He is now a lovely-looking horse with a marvellous attitude.”
Jim Bolger, a Guineas runner-up with New Approach two years ago, could also be represented in Saturday’s Classic by Free Judgement, while both Bolger and O’Brien have a number of entries for Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas.
The O’Brien fillies include the Group One-placed Devoted To You and Mastercraftsman’s sister, Famous. “Like the colts we will probably leave then all in and straighten things out later in the week,” said the trainer.
The fallout from Dunguib’s disappointing sixth place to Hurricane Fly at last week’s Punchestown Festival hasn’t discouraged trainer Philip Fenton from planning to keep his star performer at two miles over hurdles next season. Dunguib raced keenly in his first start against older horses in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle on Friday and faded in the closing stages under jockey Brian O’Connell.
“He ran much too free,” Fenton admitted yesterday. “He saunters away and is very relaxed at home, but it is a pity he doesn’t settle in his races. In a lesser race he might have got away with it but we’ve no regrets about running him and we still have him to look forward to next season.
“There will be no change next year: Brian will keep the ride,” he said. Dunguib has slipped out to 20-1 in ante-post betting with Paddy Power for next year’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Barizan records Grade One success at Punchestown
BARIZAN WILL take on the best the two-mile hurdle division has to offer next season after recording a deserved Grade One success on the final day of the Punchestown Festival on Saturday.
Having filled the runner-up spot in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and Aintree’s Anniversary four-year-old Novices’ Hurdle, Evan Williams’ youngster was sent off at 4 to 1 for the Airshow 100 Champion four-year-old Hurdle and adopted his customary trail-blazing tactics.
Favourite Carlito Brigante sat second for much of the contest but could not reel in Barizan and Jason Maguire kept up the gallop to score by 12 lengths.
Willie Mullins matched his remarkable tally of last year with his 12 winners. French import Tarla (13 to 8) took the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association Fillies Scheme European Breeders Fund Mares Hurdle, while Katie Walsh and 9 to 1 chance Dorset Square landed the thetote.com Hurdle.
