Sangster unhappy with Newmarket

ROBERT SANGSTER yesterday added his weight to the growing disquiet over the state of the ground at Newmarket and revealed he had boycotted the Guineas meeting because of the conditions at the track.

The millionaire racehorse owner said several of his runners at the Craven fixture in April had returned "jarred up" and urged clerk of the course Nick Lees to take a look at the ground at Chester.

He was joined by another leading owner Michael Tabor who questioned the credibility of the result of the 2,000 Guineas in which his own Danehill Dancer finished a disappointing sixth.

Sangster is always among the winners at Chester, which is one of his favourite tracks, and will be well represented at York next week but had deliberately chosen not to run any of his string at Newmarket last week.

"Nick Lees should come to Chester and look at the ground. It is superb, like a carpet," he said. I'm running 16 in the north and had nothing at Newmarket and the ground is the main reason.

"We jarred a lot of horses up at the Craven meeting, about seven or eight. You can go round the boxes and see the clay coming off their legs! Very few horses have run well since that meeting."

In the wake of the 2,000 Guineas, trainers complained of a wide disparity between the ground in the middle of the course and the stands' rails where Mark Of Esteem, Even Top and Bijou D'Inde finished well clear.

Favourite Alhaarth, drawn in the middle, was six lengths adrift in fourth ahead of Beauchamp King and Danehill Dancer, who had taken the same route.

Lees has vigorously defended the course claiming the track has "the best watering system available".

Tabor, owner of Danehill Dancer, had watched the Guineas from Churchill Downs where his Victory Speech and Honour And Glory were well beaten in the Kentucky Derby.

He said on his return yesterday: "I can't believe the three horses on the stands rail were so superior to the three in the middle. There must have been a false patch of ground up the middle."

Mark Of Esteem was no more or less than an "average" 2,000 Guineas winner according to the British Horseracing Board handicapper Dominic Gardner-Hill who yesterday installed the Go-dolphin colt on a mark of 125.

Consequently, Mark Tompkins's Derby candidate Even Top and the Mark Johnston-trained Irish 2,000 Guineas contender Bijou D'Inde - a short head and head away in the next two places in Saturday's thrilling race - have both been rated a pound behind on 124.

Geoffrey Gibbs, senior handicapper for the BHB, commenting on his colleague's assessment of the colt's classic said: "It is very difficult at this time of year, especially as several of the fancied horses obviously didn't run up to form. but I think Dominic took the view that Beauchamp King ran the same as he did in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster last season.

Bosra Sham has been given 118 - the same rating as the last two winners of the race, Las Meninas and Harayir.

Matiya, who now heads for the Irish 1,000 Guineas, takes a rating of 115 into her Curragh test, whereas Bint Shadayid, beaten a further head away in third, receives an official assessment of 114.

Gibbs added: "As for the filly (Bosra Sham), her rating was achieved with a bruised foot and, when fit, she could turn out to be something special."

Shake The Yoke is likely to be all the rage for the Dubai Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) at Longchamp on Sunday after a 10- length triumph in the Group Three Prix de la Grotte over the same course and distance last month.

The Elie Lellouche-trained filly was among yesterday's 11 acceptors which also included Charles O'Brien's Parade Sauvage, disqualified from second place after her rider failed to weigh-in at the Curragh; recent Newmarket winner Ta Rib (Ed Dunlop) and Fillies' Mile fourth Rouge Rancon (Paul Cole) along with Godolphin runner Shawanni.

Britain had seven colts among the acceptors for the Dubai Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas) on the same card. They are, headed by Godolphin's Don Micheletto and Russian Revival who bid to emulate the all- conquering organisation's victory in the race 12 months ago with Vettori.