Equinties - The Guineas Maker

Gm Equinauts

It’s Friday, it’s the bank holiday, it’s Finals Day.

It’s all-weather championship finals day today at Newcastle and the card looks a good one for most who likes that sort of thing.

When the ground is such a huge part in betting, and anything can win on good, you’ll appreciate why don’t really care for it. Equally we understand why people love it. If you can control your chimp and stay clear of most of the crap then the best (trying) horse should win.

Lingfield is the one responsible for bringing back the racing to our TV’s on Good Friday (a long time ago now), their meeting deemed important enough to broadcast the highlights on BBC News programmes. Good work, Lingers!

With mainly the lower classed horses battling it out at Chelmsford, you’d be forgiven for thinking no one’s going to care about this one. Well, check the betting activity in the first - it’s as if everyone’s forgotten Newcastle is on. At least three different horses have been gambled in that race in the last 12 hours.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

GODOLPHINS GUINEAS MAKER

ANCIENT WISDOM, the €2,000,000 sale topper at Arqana will go straight to the Guineas at Newmarket and onto the Derby. The Ecurie des Monceaux bred colt, won the Futurity on soft ground at the back end of the season. He will no doubt follow the same well trodden path as a lot of Derby horses, placed in the Guineas, wins the Dante at York and goes on to win the Derby at Epsom … If life was so easy.

By DUBAWI, a soft ground Guineas is going to be in his favour. He already has the vital track experience as he won the Gr3 Autumn Stakes, just like Appleby’s previous Guineas winner COROEBUS. 14/1 for the Guineas is tempting…

The Godolphin DUBAWI combo hold a strong hand in the girls race too…

DUBAWI’s filly, DANCE SEQUENCE won the Oh So Sharp Stakes last year, a race won by Guineas winner Miss France 11 years ago. Not the number 1 lead up race but fans of the filly will be able to assess her credentials when she runs in the Nell Gwynn before the big day in May.

DUBAWI is the gift that keeps on giving for Godolphin. Imagine if his sire DUBAI MILLIENIUM didn’t die so young, he could have been as successful as GALILEO possibly?

GERRI TO AINTREE

Following his second at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, GERRI COLOMBE had his next run in the UK again as he took home Grade 1 glory at Aintree.

Fast-forward 12 months and Gordon Elliott is looking to do the same with his Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up as he is likely to take on HEWICK in the Grade 1 Aintree Bowl. The boss of Cullentra House has a strong affection to the Mersey track; he has won three Grand Nationals, after all.

Last year was a big meeting for him with GERRI COLOMBE, IRISH POINT, and SIRE DU BERLAIS, and with Willie Mullins set to dominate Punchestown, he is looking to send a strong team to the Grand National Festival this year. He said: "Gerri Colombe has come out of the Gold Cup in great nick and I've been delighted with him. He worked the other morning and I liked what I saw from him”.

Like his stablemate, IRISH POINT will be looking to do an Aintree double in the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle and FIREFOX could also get on the boat for the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle.

BIG JUMPS SALE 

It feels like an age since we had the Caldwell Dispersal Sale where plenty of jumps horses in training were sold for six-figure sums, notably CALDWELL POTTER, FIL DOR, and IMAGINE. Six-figure sums in the National Hunt code are not a rarity as any promising Irish point-to-point winner will have plenty bidding for them, but yesterday saw KILGAME sell to Henry de Bromhead for €300,000. 

Bought to run in the Robcour silks, the JEU ST ELOI four-year-old was sold via Arqana’s Online Sale and is from the family of Grade 1 Grand Prix d'Autumne winner MILLENIUM ROYAL. Having placed over hurdles, he looks an interesting one to keep an eye on going forward. 

BIG RACE OF THE DAY

The Listed Burradon Stakes opens up the Newcastle card and the only Listed race of the day.

The money has been for ORNE of the Gosdens as he is 11/4 from 9/2. The ACCLIMATION gelding has raced five times – three times as a juvenile (winning a Group 3) and twice as a three-year-old – though he has yet to win this calendar year. The Group 3 Horris Hill that he won at the end of last season at Newmarket was weak-enough as SON OF MAN (3rd) was beaten in a Listed race nto and the fifth, FINBAR FUREY, was beaten at Dundalk on his next start. 

Despite the money for ORNE, Godolphin’s SILENT AGE has been solid at the head of affairs. By DUBAWI out of the FRANKEL mare DUBAI BEAUTY (who was sent off 11/8 to win the 2018 Group 2 May Hill and then finished two-and-a-quarter lengths behind the winner in the 2018 Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac), he is unbeaten in two.

He looks like a nice three-year-old for the boys in blue. On debut he beat CALUMET (who split two Godolpin horses on his next start), SUSPICION (who has won two races since), and Godolphin’s MUSICAL DANCER (who won at Kempton last month). He bolted up on his next start and has some nice relations in the family – he looks like a solid type for the Godolphins.

ROOM SERVICE has four runs under his belt but this is his first of the season – he won on debut last season so that could put him in a good position to run well fto. He then finished third to BOMBAY BAZAAR at Beverley who went on to finish three lengths behind Guineas hopeful TASK FORCE in the Listed Ripon Champion Two Yrs Old Trophy Stakes and then he finished third to ZOULU CHIEF off 86. He’s a nice horse, but this could be too much for him.

CUBAN TIGER is similarly inexperienced to SILENT AGE with just the two runs under his belt, but he is out of the KITTEN’S JOY mare SHIRLEY’S KITTEN who placed in a Group 3 on the track. He’s fairly unexposed and he won on debut when sent off 4/5 and the second, CALL TO ACTION, won on his next start. Interesting. 

At the bigger prices, SAYEDATY SADATY could be of interest. Out of the GALILEO mare BELL SU RIVER, he’s a bit of a monkey as he ran out at Windsor and he hung to the right when he won at Kempton, but he has an engine. He’ll be interesting to watch today.

Verdict: We’re happy with our two selections (and third might be posted late on X) so we won’t bet this race but we don’t like ORNE running with a pen and as such don’t understand why SILENT AGE is drifting as he is our winner.

TWEETS OF THE DAY

RISK ON

16.35 DECEIVER

This will be our third time backing this horse - today HAS to be his day. Draw to overcome but if he’s as good as everyone thinks he is then he should be winning easily and going up in class soon. 5/1

16.40 SYMBOL OF LIGHT

You have to love it when the trainer says they’ve targeted this race all winter. He can be a funny bugger (mounting in the chute!) but he certainly has talent. Maybe a bit inbred? He’s by SHAMARDAL and out of a STREET CRY mare…STREET CRY is a full brother to SHAMARDAL’s Mum! Anyway, his run at Newcastle on New Years Day was very good, level weights with DEAR MY FRIEND but gets a stone from him today. 6/1 ew.

Small 41/1 double ew.

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