O’Brien holds key to Qipco 2000 Guineas

The 2000 Guineas Stakes was first run on 18 April 1809, and it preceded the introduction of a version for fillies only, the 1000 Guineas Stakes, by five years. By the mid-1860s, the 2000 Guineas was regarded as one of Britain's most prestigious races for three-year-olds. Among the winners were the likes of Sir Ivor, Nijinsky, Brigadier Gerard, Roland Gardens, Dancing Brave, Rock Of Gibraltar, Sea The Stars and Frankel.

Roland Gardens was retired from racing as a four-year-old and exported to stand as a breeding stallion in South Africa. The best of his offspring were fillies Enchanted Garden and Roland's Song, as well as Pas De Quoi.

The Qipco 2000 Guineas will be run at Newmarket on Saturday and Aidan O’Brien is responsible for the top two in the market but acknowledges this is the only time they’ll ever meet.

In the red corner is Auguste Rodin, brilliant winner of the Futurity at Doncaster on his final start at two. That was over a mile and in very testing ground. He’s bred to thrive over middle-distances and the Triple Crown has been whispered in many a quarter over the winter months.

tomorrow’s first Classic of the season is likely to be the toughest for him to win.

Will he have the speed to see off the rest on what seems sure to be final start at a mile?

“Auguste Rodin will go up in trip definitely and Saturday will tell us a lot about Little Big Bear and whether he’s going to stay a mile or move back. It’s going to be very interesting and informative for us – and everyone else,” O’Brien mused in a Great British Racing press call on Wednesday.

Auguste Rodin's biggest performance to date came at Doncaster in October and O'Brien is adamant he was so impressive despite the heavy going, and not because of it.

“We were very worried about running him in that type of ground at Doncaster last autumn, it got very soft that day and he’s a beautiful-moving horse and definitely not a soft ground colt. That’s why we were delighted with him. We wanted to go there because we wanted to get experience into him but really, I suppose we thought we weren’t going to run on the way over there but were delighted we did and how he ran.

“He’s a horse who has always shown a lot of class in his work. Ryan (Moore) rode him in the February or March as a two-year-old and loved him - he was showing loads even then. That’s usually a very good sign."

And what of the Triple Crown? A feat not completed since the majestic Nijinsky in 1970 although O’Brien went agonisingly close in 2012 when Camelot won the first two legs before finding Encke too strong down the Doncaster straight in the Leger.

“If we had a horse who could do it this year then he was obviously the one and we wanted to give him the chance if he was good enough,” he admitted.

“The Triple Crown is a very hard thing to do but one day it would be great to do it. He’s by Deep Impact, who obviously stayed very well, out of a Galileo mare, and we’re looking forward to it.’

It’s a different challenge facing stablemate Little Big Bear at Newmarket. There are no pretensions he’s going to stay a yard further than a mile but can the pace he showed at two, winning the Phoenix Stakes on his final start, be stretched out for another 400m?

“He’s by No Nay Never who is a big influence for speed. There’s stamina on the dam’s side but the sire is definitely a big influence for speed and he’s a big, powerful horse and we saw what he can do over five and six furlongs last season,” O'Brien said.

“He won over five (1000m) at Royal Ascot and we know what kind of pace and preciousness that takes, and he had it. We went up to six (1200m) wondering if he’d get it – and he did – and the way he got it winning the Phoenix he looked like he’d get seven standing on his ear. He hasn’t run in a long time but his work over that distance has been nice and he’s doing everything right really.”

The Curragh Group 1 was to prove his final start at two, a foot injury forcing connections to pull up stumps in September, but there are no worries he won’t be ready to do his best tomorrow.

“The setback meant we didn’t have any choice but to give him the time, but he’d been in full work a long time and got over that before the end of the year. He didn’t miss any time over the winter or through the spring which is a big help,” O’Brien added.

“It’s possible (he’ll get a mile) looking at him and if we didn’t think it was possible we wouldn’t let him take his chance. He’s a very laidback horse and doesn’t use any petrol really, only when he needs to, and that temperament is a big advantage.”

Leading Qipco1000 Guineas hope Meditate already has a win over 1600m in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf but the trainer admits that doesn’t mean she’s certain to get the trip at Newmarket on Sunday.

“We weren’t sure going to America she would stay and that was around a bend, so we took our time on her as it was her first time over a mile," he said. "We ran her over seven furlongs (1400m) at the Curragh on very soft ground and rode her very forward. She ran a very good race, but Dermot’s filly (Tahirya) came and got her. We went to America and went up in trip again but she relaxed lovely and came home very well.

“There’s a big difference between a flat, round track in America and a straight mile like Newmarket and again we’ll learn a lot about her. She’s a very lazy worker at home, only shows you what she has to do and unless you stoke her up, she stays in second gear. We’re very happy with her work.”

To win the first fillies’ Classic she’ll need to reverse form not only with Tahirya, who beat her 2.25 lengths at the Curragh but Lezoo, 0.75 lengths too strong on her next start at Newmarket.

However, O’Brien feels there are genuine grounds for optimism.

“In the Cheveley Park we felt we might have rushed her back a little from the Moyglare and felt in the Moyglare we might have made a bit too much use of her in the ground. We think they are two legitimate excuses, and it will be interesting.” – Sportinglife.com