EMINENT ARRIVAL ECHOES FRANKEL
APoWER-packed performance from Eminent to win the Bet365 Craven Stakes ensured mighty Frankel will have a live contender for the 2,000 Guineas back here in two weeks.
The foundation of the Frankel legend was the obliteration of his rivals in the 2011 2,000 Guineas.
The unbeatable colt has already made his mark as a stallion with his first crop and Eminent possesses an even more imposing physique than his sire. The late Sir Henry Cecil, trainer of Frankel, would no doubt have been an admirer of Eminent, trained on the same Newmarket trial grounds by Martyn Meade.
A 33-1 shot before yesterday’s trial run over the same mile course as the Guineas, Eminent is now as short as 8-1 after pulling a length and a quarter clear of Rivet under Jim Crowley. Despite his new retainer with owner Sheik Hamdan Al Maktoum, the jockey seemed confident he would be free to ride Eminent in the Guineas.
Crowley, who had won a maiden on Eminent here in September, said: ‘He was the best two-year-old I sat on last year.
‘All the time I have ridden horses here I have never had a horse take so long to pull up. He has such a big stride.’
Meade had been concerned that Eminent, who cost 150,000 guineas, might not reach the strong pace he needs at a mile. That should be guaranteed in the 2,000 Guineas.
Meade said: ‘ He has a magnificent stride. At home he does not look to do anything, he just lollops along.
‘I brought him here wondering whether we were overstepping the mark but it was the only way to find out.’ only the Aidan o’Brien pair of Churchill ( 5- 4) and Caravaggio (7-1) plus Andre Fabre’s Al Wukair (4-1) are now shorter in the betting for the Guineas.
Rivet, the Racing Post Trophy winner trained by William Haggas and partowned by his father-in-law Lester Piggott, will still run in a Guineas but it could well be the French or Irish version.
Haggas said: ‘ He will be better at a mile and a quarter but I suspect he will go a Guineas.’
The chances of another son of Frankel making the 2,000 Guineas have receded after David Elsworth did not declare Swiss Storm for tomorrow’s Greenham Stakes at Newbury.