Betfred 2000 Guineas
 AutoUpdating 150x150 Gif
Group 1, Newmarket 15:35
£525,000 guaranteed,
3yo only,
1m, Class 1  
Saturday 4th May 2025

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It’ll take a seriously smart horse to stop Field Of Gold from emulating Haafhd and turning Craven Stakes form into 2000 Guineas glory, says Richard Hills — and he should know better than most.

Hills was in the saddle when Haafhd, trained by his father Barry and carrying the famous Shadwell colours, did the Craven-Guineas double back in 2004. It remains the last time the traditional trial has produced the Guineas winner, although Masar came close when placing in the Guineas before landing the Derby in 2018.

"Winning a Classic on a horse trained by Dad, bred by Shadwell — it doesn’t get any better than that," Hills recalls. "There was so much history there with his dam, Al Bahathri, having won the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes."

Like many, Hills was surprised to realise Haafhd was the last Craven winner to go on and win the Guineas.

"I was chatting to John Gosden the other day and I told him something Lester Piggott once said to me — if a horse wins the Craven by more than three lengths, they're never out of the first three in the Guineas," he said. "Haafhd did it easily both times, and Field Of Gold certainly looked the part in the Craven."

The record books show the Craven is still viewed as the ultimate trial — even if trends and fashions have shifted.

"I don’t know why it hasn’t happened again since Haafhd," Hills added. "Maybe it’s just the way things go, but you’d have to say I was very impressed with Field Of Gold. He travelled, he quickened, he had everything you'd want to see. It'll take a proper horse to beat him. Having a run beforehand — especially for colts — is a huge advantage. Sheikh Hamdan always said you can’t always spot what they’re hiding until they’ve had a race."

Haafhd himself went on to be narrowly denied in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot before finding the mile and a quarter of the Champion Stakes much more to his liking later that year.

"I always felt there was more to come over further," Hills said. "After the Craven, when I pulled up, he gave a buck and a kick — full of life — and I told Sheikh Hamdan I thought he’d be even better over a mile and a quarter. But Sheikh loved his milers, and with an eye on stud duties, he stayed at a mile until the autumn. When we finally stepped him up, he won the Champion Stakes really well. He wasn’t very big, but it didn’t hold him back."

Hills’ CV in the Classics doesn’t end with Haafhd either — he famously steered home three winners of the 1,000 Guineasin the Shadwell blue and white: Harayir (1995), Lahan (2000), and Ghanaati (2009).

"I only actually rode Harayir twice — once to win the Guineas and once back at the yard for a photo for Major Hern!" Hills laughs. "Poor Willie Carson was always supposed to ride her but ended up picking the runner-up Aqaarid instead. A lucky day for me, that — it had a huge impact on my career."

Lahan, Hills says, was the best filly he ever sat on.

"She was incredible. When she won the Guineas, she went through the field like they were standing still. I told John Gosden afterwards I'd never ridden anything like her. It was heartbreaking when she went wrong — she got cast in her box and fractured something. We lost out on seeing just how good she could have been."

As for Ghanaati, Hills remembers her for her toughness.

"She’d only won a maiden before the Guineas but she stuck it out like a colt. If anything, I thought her best run came later in the Coronation at Royal Ascot — she beat a really good field that day. She’s had a good life at stud since, producing some nice ones."

Charlie Appleby knows what it takes to win a Guineas, and the Godolphin trainer appears to have not one but two aces to play. At the head of the pack is Shadow Of Light, a colt with a champion's résumé and, in Appleby’s words, “a faultless” path to Newmarket.

Already a dual Group One winner as a juvenile—having landed the Middle Park over six furlongs before stretching out successfully in the Dewhurst just a fortnight later—the son of Lope De Vega is set to tackle the mile for the first time on May 3, currently priced at 7-1 with the sponsors.

And after a racecourse gallop on April 16, Appleby cut a figure of confidence.

“I’m really pleased with that work,” he said. “He’s done very well physically over the winter, looks fantastic, and it’s all systems go.”

There’s no trial route here, no need for sharpening. Appleby made it clear this has always been the plan.

“He was never coming for a prep run—we were always aiming straight at the Guineas.”

The one question mark? The extra furlong. But it’s one the Dewhurst has gone a long way to answer.

“Look, there’s always going to be a slight doubt until he proves it, but what he showed that day was a lot. It was testing ground, he’d just won the Middle Park, and he still saw the seven out strongly. He’s got the pedigree and the physical scope to stay.”

The mile may determine his summer path: stretch it out and he opens doors, fall short and the Commonwealth Cup beckons.

“It’s pretty straightforward really,” Appleby said. “If he stays, fantastic. If he doesn’t, we drop him back, and there’s no shame in that.”

Few trainers have a better recent record in the Guineas. Coroebus (2022) and Notable Speech (2024) gave Appleby two wins from the last three, and yet Shadow Of Light, he says, brings something different to the table.

“Coroebus was a bit raw physically, needed time. Notable Speech came from the all-weather and turned into a serious horse from January on,” he reflected. “But this lad? He’s a natural. A half-brother to Earthlight, he was precocious and professional from day one—athletic, pacy, and it all comes quite easy to him in the mornings.”

Still, Appleby is quick to add caution to confidence.

“Those other two had already done it at a mile. This guy hasn’t. And until they do, well… we can all have our theories, but the track gives the real answers.”

Adding intrigue to the stable’s Guineas hand is Ruling Court, an imposing son of Justify who also impressed in the same work session and remains under active Classic consideration.

Initially earmarked for the Sandown Classic Trial on April 25, that plan may now shift.

“We were thinking Sandown, but after this morning we’re weighing it up again,” Appleby said. “He’s still in the Guineas picture. I mean, let’s be honest—the Guineas has produced plenty of Derby winners. It’s as good a trial as any.”

Already proven over a mile after his commanding Listed success in Meydan, Ruling Court looks the type to benefit from a searching test—wherever it may come.

“If he ran in the Guineas and finished third or fourth, you’d be delighted and you’d know he’s ready to step up,” Appleby noted. “Sure, he could go to Sandown and probably take a lot of beating—but what would you really learn?”

For now, the dual-pronged approach continues to build momentum—and with Appleby’s recent Classic strike-rate, few would bet against him adding yet another Newmarket chapter to his growing legend.

Aidan O’Brien’s hope Twain has been declared a major doubt for Saturday’s opening Classic of the season at Newmarket. 

The son of Wootton Bassett was heading to the Rowley Mile as the Ballydoyle handler’s main contender for an 11th 2000 Guineas success after his remarkable efforts last autumn when winning a Group One in France just a week after a successful debut at Leopardstown. 

However, an unsatisfactory scope on Tuesday morning has made a switch to the Irish equivalent more likely. 

A statement on owners Coolmore’s X page read: “Following his work this morning, Twain didn’t scope 100% so is unlikely to run in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and may now be aimed at the Irish 2,000 Guineas instead.

“Expanded is likely to be Ballydoyle’s only runner in the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday.”

Henri Matisse made the perfect start to his three-year-old campaign, finishing with a flourish to land the Ballylinch Stud “Red Rocks” Stakes at Leopardstown on March 30.

A top-class juvenile last season, the Wootton Bassett colt claimed four victories from six starts, his biggest triumph coming under the bright lights of Del Mar in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Returning to action for the first time since that November success, he was tasked with conceding 3lb all around in this seven-furlong Group Three and was sent off the 6-4 favourite under Ryan Moore.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. Moore had to get to work sooner than expected as Arizona Blaze shot clear off the home turn, looking to make every yard. But as the early leader began to feel the pinch, Henri Matisse was just hitting top stride, swooping late to win by half a length from Comanche Brave, with Arizona Blaze another half-length away in third.

Aidan O’Brien was pleased with what he saw: “He wants to get there late, and when he does, he waits. He’ll come on a lot for that because they went a good gallop, and he’s only been doing half-speeds at home,” the Ballydoyle maestro said. “Ryan felt he’d be more comfortable stepping up to a mile, and that makes sense.”

Boylesports Races

Betfred 2000 Guineas Stakes
(British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£525,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 1m, Class 1
24 remaining entries
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places

NO. FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 3143-3 Aomori City 3 9-2 Charlie Appleby
2 1214-4 Benevento 3 9-2 Raphael E Freire
3 2621-2 Camille Pissarro 3 9-2 A P O'Brien
4 1-1 Cosmic Year 3 9-2 Harry Charlton
5 116-1 Detain 3 9-2 John & Thady Gosden
6 12- Expanded 3 9-2 A P O'Brien
7 3114-1 Field Of Gold 3 9-2 John & Thady Gosden
8 211- Green Impact 3 9-2 Mrs John Harrington
9 1251-1 Henri Matisse 3 9-2 A P O'Brien
10 11211- Hotazhell 3 9-2 Mrs John Harrington
11 16-1 Jonquil 3 9-2 Andrew Balding
12 51-7 Noble Champion 3 9-2 Ed Walker
13 2122-2 Rashabar 3 9-2 Brian Meehan
14 13-1 Ruling Court 3 9-2 Charlie Appleby
15 131- Scorthy Champ 3 9-2 Joseph O'Brien
16 12340- Seagulls Eleven 3 9-2 Hugo Palmer
17 631-8 Serengeti 3 9-2 A P O'Brien
18 11211- Shadow Of Light 3 9-2 Charlie Appleby
19 312- Stanhope Gardens 3 9-2 Ralph Beckett
20 31- Tornado Alert 3 9-2 Saeed bin Suroor
21 11- Tuscan Hills 3 9-2 Raphael E Freire
22 11- Twain 3 9-2 A P O'Brien
23 3213-2 Wimbledon Hawkeye 3 9-2 James Owen
24 201-5 Yah Mo Be There 3 9-2 Richard Spencer

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