Relief all round as Kingman shows his class in Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas

His trainer, John Gosden, looked to expend more energy squelching over the Curragh mile before the Tattersalls Irish 2, 000 Guineas than Kingman did in winning Saturday's Classic by five lengths and the colt is on target for an eagerly-anticipated rerematchmatch with Night Of Thunder in Royal Ascot's St James's Palace Stakes.

Group One victories usually provoke understandable triumph but relief seemed to be the predominant reaction to Kingman's success. Very testing ground conditions had Gosden seriously debating whether or not to run the Juddmonte-owned colt, who'd forfeited his unbeaten record to Night Of Thunder in the Newmarket Guineas three weeks previously. But it all worked out in the end, with jockey James Doyle continuing his remarkable Curragh record of making it three wins from three Group One rides.

The 26-year-old rider’s first Classic winner got a clean bill of health yesterday with Juddmonte’s Lord Grimthorpe reporting he hopes Royal Ascot will be more like Newbury’s Greenham, where Kingman hammered Night Of Thunder.

“He’s a very talented horse and it’s lovely to win a Guineas with him. The mile takes some getting in those conditions,” said Gosden, winning his first Irish Guineas, and now eager for revenge on Night Of Thunder.

Fresh going The Newmarket trainer praised the Curragh ground-staff and management for providing fresh going in the Guineas and said he would have taken Kingman out had the Classic ground been churned up.

The going appeared to be even less bother to Slade Power, who looked better than ever with a successful return to action in the Weatherbys Greenlands Stakes, easily holding off Maarek to earn a ticket to Royal Ascot's Golden Jubilee Stakes.

Ger Lyons has his own Ascot quandary over whether to go for the Norfolk over the minimum distance or the six-furlong Coventry with Capella Sansevero after the Showcasing colt made it three from three in the Marble Hill Stakes. “My gut feeling is the Norfolk but the Coventry is still an option,” he said.