DAQMAN SPOTLIGHT ON THE GUINEAS ALL THIS WEEK: All eerily quiet on the racecourse, but Daqman will be ‘running’ his own 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas to match their traditional date at Newmarket at the weekend. Look out for his form and stats verdict. Meanwhile, hopes are high of a restart in France and Germany, despite a continued lockdown on other sports. That will give Europe’s best a Classic case of one jump ahead over England and Ireland.
GUINEAS: ADVANTAGE EARTHLIGHT
The Light at the end of the tunnel.. Master trainer Andre Fabre has been handed the advantage in a great season for the Guineas, if only we can run them.
With the racing situation in a state of flux, how to guarantee the best future for each of their Shamardal colts, Pinatubo (Charlie Appleby) and Earthlight (Fabre), has been a headache for Godolphin that others wish they had.
Says Godolphin managing director Hugh Anderson: “It was a remarkable run by Shamardal having this fellow and Pinatubo at the same time with 2019 already a great year for him after the exploits of the now-retired Blue Point.’
With Pinatubo hot favourite for the Newmarket Guineas, Earthlight was likely to take the secondary option, the French Guineas. Nothing changes, despite the very different circumstances.
But, with the delayed release of the racing lockdown in England and Ireland, the French Classic now comes first (on June 1) so Earthlight takes pole position among the colts of the 2020 generation.
More than that, if he puts the Poulains at Longchamp on his CV, there could be room to take in one of the delayed Guineas in England or Ireland or wait for Royal Ascot, which is the only meeting described as definite by the British Horseracing Board.
The spotlight has switched to Fabre, with Godolphin having another enviable headache, whether to steer to a Guineas double or take in the St James’s Palace Stakes, travel permitted.
Henrythenavigator, Frankel, Dawn Approach, Gleneagles and Galileo Gold all won the St James’s Palace after the Newmarket Guineas. So, incidentally, did Shamardal in 2005.
France will not allow visitors to their racetracks until the end of May, so Earthlight will face little quality opposition in the Poulains, unless something amazing happens in their Classic trials when French racing reopens on May 11.
Although the French Prime Minister said yesterday that sport will not be resuming in that country until September, horseracing is a special case.
It has never been treated as a sport but as a national industry under the auspices of the Ministry Of Agriculture, with its own betting trademark in the totalisator system, Parimutuel.
And France Galop for the racing authority itself has this week had positive indicators from the agricultural department, although an official government decision has still to be made.
Nicolas Clement, president of the French trainers, said: “It all seems to be going the right way to allowing activity to take place as earlier planned with the ministry.”
That plan appeared in Daqman’s column last Saturday, April 25, below a picture of the Dortmund sand track, with the German racing authorities claiming they will restart there next Monday.
⚠️ FORM FACTS: Earthlight won five races in a row as a juvenile, including the Prix Morny at Deauville and the Middle Park at Newmarket.
Pinatubo won the Chesham at Royal Ascot and the Vintage at Goodwood, before taking the National Stakes at The Curragh and the Dewhurst at Newmarket.
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