2000 Guineas Stakes - Group 1 (3y) Newmarket - 1mile The Guineas meeting, held at the historic Newmarket course, hosts the first Classics of the Flat season. The 2,000 Guineas is for three-year-old colts and fillies and is run on the famous Rowley Mile course. The event was established in 1921, a year before the launch of the Irish 1,000 Guineas.The inaugural running was won by Soldennis. It is Ireland's equivalent of the 2,000 Guineas, and in recent years it has taken place three weeks after that race.The field usually includes horses which previously contested the English version, and nine have achieved victory in both events.

Timeform reveal which horses in the last 50 years ran to the highest rating when winning the 2000 Guineas.

1. The first classic of the season is run on Saturday afternoon at 3.35 pm, the 2000 Guineas. A race that has been dominated by Aidan O’Brien in recent years. He won his first in 1998 and has claimed four of the last five renewals. 2000 Guineas Runners. Pinatubo is the only place to start, the winner of all six of his juvenile starts. A string of breathtaking performances had superlatives dripping from the pens of every.
2. The 2000 Guineas is the first Classic of the 2021 horse racing season. 2000 Guineas Betting 2021 3.35pm Newmarket, Saturday, May 1 2021; TV: Live on ITV; click best odds in bold; Each-Way Place Terms: 1/5 odds 1,2,3.
3. Let’s take a horse-by-horse look at the field: #1 Grand Dubai: Broke his maiden over this track and distance on Dec. 17, but subsequently faltered when facing tougher company in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial and the Al Bastakiya Trial, finishing fifth and 10th by wide margins.The Irish-bred son of Dawn Approach has a turf pedigree and might enjoy a surface switch down the road.

1. Brigadier Gerard (Performance rating 141)

One of the all-time greats, Brigadier Gerard achieved the highest performance rating in the 2000 Guineas in the last 50 years when winning by three lengths in 1971. Despite the remarkably small field – only six went to post – Brigadier Gerard was only third in the betting as an incredibly strong line-up also included Mill Reef and My Swallow. The trio had won a combined 16 of their 17 previous starts and scared off plenty of potential rivals.

Despite the small field, the pace of the race was strong and the Dick Hern-trained Brigadier Gerard picked up impressively entering the Dip to draw right away from Mill Reef inside the final furlong.

Mill Reef went on to frank the form in no uncertain terms, stepping up in trip to win the Derby, Eclipse, King George and Arc before the year was out, while Brigadier Gerard proved prolific in the top mile races before stepping up to win the Champion Stakes on his final three-year-old start.

Meeting with defeat only once in his career and retiring at the end of his four-year-old season, Brigadier Gerard’s rating peaked at 144 and has since been bettered by only Frankel.

2. El Gran Senor (136)

Following an unbeaten two-year-old campaign, the Vincent O’Brien-trained El Gran Senor was sent off a strong 15/8 favourite for the 2000 Guineas in 1984 and produced a top-class performance.

Stylishly making progress onto the heels of the leaders two furlongs out, Pat Eddery hit the front entering the final furlong and never needed to get really serious with his mount to stamp his authority, crossing the line with plenty in hand over some high-class rivals. Indeed, Chief Singer, Lear Fan and Rainbow Quest filled the frame behind El Gran Senor and all subsequently went on to win Group 1 contests.

With such a strong-travelling display to win the Guineas, El Gran Senor had a slight question to answer over his stamina as he went up in trip later in the year, but, having narrowly missed out to Secreto in the Derby, he proved himself in clear-cut fashion by beating Rainbow Quest in the Irish Derby before injury curtailed his career and he was retired to stud.

3= Nijinsky (135)

Much like El Gran Senor, Nijinsky completed a perfect juvenile campaign by winning the Dewhurst, establishing himself as the clear favourite for the 2000 Guineas the following year. It was arguably not the strongest of renewal, but Nijinsky scored with plenty in hand under a confident Lester Piggott, leaving spectators in no doubt he was a top-class performer.

Nijinsky went on to cement his status as one the greats with one of the best performances ever seen in the Derby, displaying a tremendous turn of foot to beat Gyr, before a comfortable win in the St Leger secured his place in history as a Triple Crown winner. A busy three-year-old campaign eventually caught up with him, though with more luck in running he may well have added the Arc to his remarkable year, and he was retired to stud following a below-par display in the Champion Stakes. He remains the last horse to have won the Triple Crown.

3= Frankel (135)

It may come as a surprise that Frankel is only joint-third as, in many ways, his performance in the Newmarket showpiece was the most devastating ever seen, striding on from the get-go at a strong pace, barely anything even able to lay a glove on the Galileo colt, the race taken apart by halfway. However, such was the exuberance he displayed, even the six-length margin of victory over Dubawi Gold failed to show Frankel’s full superiority on the day.

Frankel, whose career was expertly charted by Sir Henry Cecil, went from strength to strength, consistently winning his races with performances of 140-plus as a four-year-old, showing himself to be the greatest racehorse of all time with a stunning 11-length victory over Excelebration in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, earning a Timeform rating of 147.

5. Dancing Brave (134)

Dancing Brave, like Frankel, also carried the famous Khalid Abdullah silks to 2000 Guineas glory, making his way onto this list courtesy of a three-length win over Green Desert, who himself went on to be a high-class sprinter. On the day at Newmarket there was no great pace and Dancing Brave, ridden by Greville Starkey, produced a real flourish to not only wear Green Desert down but assert in dominant style inside the final furlong.

The way he pulled clear suggested he’d stay further and, after a famously unlucky defeat in the Derby, Dancing Brave went on to record four more wins for trainer Guy Harwood, including the Arc, in which he produced a remarkable late run to get up close home.

Also read:

2000 Guineas Start Time Crossword

Between 2011 and 2019, nine horses used the Group 2 UAE Derby in Dubai as a springboard to the Kentucky Derby starting gate. While Dubai’s signature race for 3-year-olds has yet to produce a Kentucky Derby winner, the UAE Derby is still a productive steppingstone on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

Which horse(s) might take the Dubai route to Churchill Downs in 2021? We’ll get a clearer picture when half a dozen promising sophomores square off in Thursday’s 2000 Guineas (G3) at Meydan, a one-mile prep for the UAE Derby.

Let’s take a horse-by-horse look at the field:

#1 Grand Dubai: Broke his maiden over this track and distance on Dec. 17, but subsequently faltered when facing tougher company in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial and the Al Bastakiya Trial, finishing fifth and 10th by wide margins. The Irish-bred son of Dawn Approach has a turf pedigree and might enjoy a surface switch down the road.

#2 Meshakel: Although he went 0-for-3 on turf in England last year, Meshakel has shown improvement since transitioning to dirt at Meydan. After finishing second in a six-furlong dash at Jebel Ali on Jan. 8, the son of Shamardal came back six days later to crush a seven-furlong maiden sprint at Meydan by seven lengths. Meshakel showed tactical speed and posted a promising 97 Racing Post Rating, setting the stage for another step forward.

#3 Mouheeb: The most inexperienced runner in the field, with only two starts under his belt, Mouheeb nevertheless looms as the horse to beat. After breaking his maiden sprinting six furlongs at Jebel Ali (beating subsequent two-time winner Hurry Up by 2 3/4 lengths), Mouheeb stretched out to a mile and rallied to finish second by a head in the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial.

This effort produced a 104 Racing Post Rating, the highest figure in the UAE 2000 Guineas field. A son of successful U.S. stallion Flatter (the sire of champion 3-year-old West Coast plus Grade 1 winners Flat Out, Taris and Paola Queen), Mouheeb boasts a strongly dirt-oriented pedigree and should be tough to deny on Thursday.

#4 Naval Crown: Can this Godolphin homebred handle dirt? That’s the question handicappers must consider. His pedigree (by Dubawi out of the Dansili mare Come Alive) suggests turf will be his forte, and indeed, he showed significant talent on grass when finishing third in the Prix le Rochette (G3) and Prix Thomas Bryon Jockey Club de Turquie (G3) last season.

From a class perspective, Naval Crown is the runner to beat for internationally successful trainer Charlie Appleby. But Naval Crown’s lack of familiarity with dirt could place the front-running colt at a disadvantage against Mouheeb, especially if Naval Crown gets caught in a speed duel with Meshakel and/or Zhou Storm.

#5 Uncle Hamed: American racing fans are sure to recognize the names in Uncle Hamed’s pedigree. The bay gelding is a son of five-time graded stakes-winning router Tapiture out of a mare by two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic champion Tiznow.

This is a pedigree geared toward success running long, so the fact that Uncle Hamed has gone 0-for-3 sprinting isn’t too concerning in and of itself — he’s eligible to improve while stretching out over a mile. But Uncle Hamed was beaten 11 1/2 lengths by Mouheeb in their lone meeting and finished well behind Hurry Up on a couple of occasions, so these form lines suggest the UAE 2000 Guineas will be a tough spot.

French 2000 Guineas

#6 Zhou Storm: A son of the high-class sprinter Due Diligence, Zhou Storm flashed plenty of speed in his first two starts sprinting over the Meydan dirt, winning both in gate-to-wire fashion. But he faltered when stretching out over a mile for the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial, coming home seven lengths behind Mouheeb. With a couple of speedy rivals in the mix on Thursday, Zhou Storm may find it difficult to handle the class and distance of the 2000 Guineas.

If you’re keen to bet the 2000 Guineas, I suggest playing Mouheeb over Naval Crown and Meshakel in the exacta and trifecta. Unless Naval Crown thrives in his dirt debut, Mouheeb should be able to capitalize on a contested pace and rally to victory.

The Thursday card at Meydan also contains the one-mile Firebreak Stakes (G3), in which the talented #3 Matterhorn will make his first start since dominating the 2020 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 (G1) by 5 1/2 lengths. He’ll square off against five rivals led by #2 Kimbear, who showed an affinity for this track and distance when claiming the 2020 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (G2) by a short head over #5 Secret Ambition.

2000 Guineas Start Time Zone

2021 UAE 2000 Guineas (G3)

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2000 Guineas Start Timeline

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