Love can claim Classic crown
Love can give Aidan O’Brien a fourth 1000 Guineas win in the last five years with victory in the Qipco-sponsored showpiece at Newmarket.
She does have to reverse form with Quadrilateral from their meeting in the Fillies’ Mile over the course and distance in September, but the vibes surrounding the favourite do not appear particularly strong, which is a little concerning for her backers.
In contrast, Love is just the kind of tough and consistent type that O’Brien can find even more improvement from. With no less than seven juvenile outings under her belt, the daughter of Galileo has all the experience she could want for this assignment – and like Quadrilateral she brings Group One substance to the table.
That came in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh, where she beat the smart Roger Varian-trained Daahyeh and had the equally classy Albigna back in sixth.
That pair have very much advertised the merit of that effort since and her market profile in the last week or so suggests a big run is expected.
Tiempo Vuela can put herself in the big-race picture by taking the Betfair EBF Pretty Polly Fillies’ Stakes.
The daughter of Lope De Vega features in the Oaks betting and John Gosden is wasting little time in stepping her up in class following her debut victory at Newcastle in October.
There is no surprise in that, as she could hardly have been more impressive and she would not be the first high-class runner Gosden has started off at that track.
Montather should not be opposed in division two of the Betfair Exchange More Ways To Win EBF Stallions Novice Stakes. The Roger Varian-trained Dubawi colt was well backed to make a winning start at Chelmsford in November and did not let his supporters down.
He can only be better for a winter on his back and while he has a penalty to shoulder for that win, it might only be a matter of time before he gets a significant entry or two.
Hukum runs in the same ownership of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and reappears in what looks a red-hot running of the Betfair Weighed In
Podcast Handicap. Trained by Owen Burrows, he won with a good deal of authority on the second of his two juvenile starts and is in the Derby betting. A cracking Betway Brigadier Gerard Stakes takes centre stage at Haydock, and while arguments can easily be made for more than one, Elarqam gets the vote. The regally-bred colt came right back to his best last season and could quite feasibly have been even closer than he was when third in the Juddmonte
International Stakes at York, had the cards fallen his way. He should be perfectly suited to Haydock.