Heffernan on Gustav Klimt in Guineas

Seamus Heffernan looks set to take the place of Ryan Moore on antepost favourite Gustav Klimt in Saturday’s Qipco 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. Moore will be at Churchill Downs to ride Mendelssohn in the Kentucky Derby.

Aiden O’brien was pleased to get a prep run into Gustav Klimt at Leopardstown last month as the colt had been off the track since winning the Superlative Stakes in dramatic fashion at Newmarket last July. “We were anxious to get a run into him. We think and hope he’s in good form,” he said yesterday.

Richard Spencer is delighted to have booked Adam Kirby for Rajasinghe in the Guineas, saying: “Adam is one of the best and we’re thrilled he has taken the ride. He sat on him today for the first time and said the horse gave him a great feel. His last bit of work was extraordinary.”

Jockey plans for Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas are less fixed with William Buick undecided as to which of the Godolphin pair Soliloquy or Wild Illusion he will ride. “They are two high-class fillies and nothing we know splits them. That [Soliloquy having a run] could be a deciding factor,” said Buick. Soliloquy was certainly the best-backed of the pair yesterday and is a 6-1 chance.

Torcedor impressed when winning the Longines Sagaro Stakes at Ascot yesterday and the progressive stayer has the Ascot Gold Cup as his prime target. Colm O’donoghue was very positive on the six-year-old, making all and kicking on a long way from home. He said: “He is from the same family as Yeats and has got that sort of body [big and strong] to him.”