1 Alyanaabi - Owen Burrows & Jim Crowley
You could argue that the Owen Burrows-trained horse has the second-best piece of form on offer here, as he was a 3½-length runner-up to City Of Troy in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes as a 2yo, finishing a further length clear of the 3rd-placed horse that day as well.
The son of Too Darn Hot is bred to appreciate the step up to a mile, and his win in the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket would suggest he will have no issues with the trip and track this weekend. A winner on two of his starts, which includes a debut win at Salisbury, where he was sent off the short-priced favourite, he then went on to come 4th in a Listed contest at Ascot behind Rosallion (form has worked out nicely as this horse is 2nd fav for the 2000 Guineas) before going on to win that Group 3 at Newmarket and then run a very creditable 2nd behind City Of Troy, where he did put in his best effort to date.
Owen Burrows has said he is confident all will be ok in terms of trip, and Jim Crowley has also stated he is very "confident" of his chances this weekend, positive vibes from the team which is all you can ask for really.
2 City Of Troy - Aidan O'Brien & Ryan Moore
The huge talking horse heading into the 2000 Guineas this year and probably the season as a whole, Aidan O'Brien has gone on record to say this is by some considerable amount the best 2yo he has ever trained. How many times have we heard that though, hey, Aidan? One thing is for certain, I really hope he has trained on from 2 to 3, because we have seen over the years horses like him who unfortunately have not trained on, which would be a real shame as City Of Troy could be a once-in-a-lifetime type for connections, although they have had some very good horses previously.
The son of Justify has absolutely everything in his favour, the trip will suit, he has blistering winning form over this track and is unbeaten in just three starts. If he has trained on as hoped, then it will be over with a furlong to go for the rest of the field, as the unbeaten star will blitz away from the field just like he did in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes last October. That was an incredibly impressive performance at Newmarket, where he made all and fired clear like a bullet out of a gun up the hill, pulling away to win by a little under 4 lengths in the end, recording an even better time than the mighty Frankel.
That performance in the Dewhurst was just sensational, and he did beat some nice types that day as wel. I think if he goes on to win this with no issues, he could very much be the Triple Crown horse that Aidan O'Brien has been desperately searching for, and I think we could have a real superstar on our hands, as from what he has shown in his three previous starts so far, he really does look to have it all. There is a little twinkle in the eye of Aidan O'Brien whenever he talks about this horse, so we have to take that as face value.
3 Ghostwriter - Clive Cox & Richard Kingscote
One of the more interesting runners in the field for me, I actually did add this horse into my 3yo Colts To Follow article here on Tipstrr, and he is still currently in the Derby field at present, so it will be interesting to see if he can handle this championship race, as well as maybe a look at how he runs during the race in terms of whether a step up in trip will suit him.
Clive Cox's horse was a real eye-catcher on his debut victory at Newmarket on the July course back in August, and when you look back at his previous runs, he was actually a pretty late 2yo, not making his debut until August and having three runs in fairly quick succession.
After his debut win it then led on to a victory at Ascot carrying the penalty, before going on to take a step up in class and trip to land the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket, with a few nice types in behind that day.
As mentioned, that was his first run at the mile trip, so given the fact it was at Newmarket as well, we know he will very much be able to handle the conditions of the track here on Saturday. Clive Cox has come out and stated that he firmly feels his runner will give it a good go, and he has him in the best form he has ever had him in.
The unbeaten son of Invincible Spirit came on in leaps and bounds with each passing run as a 2yo last season, again like City Of Troy I really hope he has trained on from 2 to 3, as he could be the superstar that Clive Cox needs going forward.
4 Haatem - Richard Hannon & James Doyle
I am not really sure what to make of Haatem, as he was a very impressive winner of the Craven Stakes over this course and distance last time, which was his first run over this trip. But if you said to me last year when he was a 2yo that he would be a mile and a potential Guineas horse, I would have said no chance at all, as all of his winning came around the 6-furlong trip or even shorter.
However, it is clear to see he has trained on nicely, and maybe the mile trip might suit him going forward for his 3yo season. With that being said, while watching back the Craven last time you just can't help but love the way he ran through the line and was ultimately running on well in the closing stages, so there might be a little more to come from the Richard Hannon horse.
He won a Group 2 last season as well as coming 2nd to City Of Troy in the July Stakes, but that was City Of Troy's second ever start, and he was six and a half lengths behind the Aidan O'Brien star. Richard Hannon certainly knows what it takes to win the Guineas, and to provide a shock winner of the race at that, as the gutsy Billesdon Brook landed the 1000 Guineas back in 2018 as a 66/1 shot with some very nice fillies/mares in behind that day.
James Doyle completed the Guineas double just a few years back, and he is a very good jockey to book up here on Saturday, so he might be worth keeping an eye on during the contest as he could have a pretty productive season judging by his Craven Stakes efforts last time.
5 Iberian - Charlie Hills & Tom Marquand
Another horse that ran in the Dewhurst Stakes last October, and another one who got to see the back end of City Of Troy as he surged away to a very impressive victory. Take nothing away from Charlie Hills's runner here, he is a two-time winner in just 4 runs as a 2yo last season, which includes a 1 and three quarter length victory on debut at Newbury as well as a 2 length win in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster back in September.
Now there was an excuse for the slightly disappointing effort in the Dewhurst last time (by all accounts, connections were thinking he was going to run better than he did) and that was down to the softer ging on the day, which does come to a slight surprise as he won the Group 2 over 7 furlongs at Doncaster on soft going. But soft going at Newmarket compared to Doncaster can be slightly different, so you have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I think even though he will line up on the slightly better going this weekend, I think he is just a little short in terms of ability to land this contest, however I very much feel he can still have a pretty productive season going forward. He also has a Commonwealth Cup entry for the Royal meeting, so perhaps he could be one for that if the mile trip doesn't suit him as a 3yo now.
6 Inisherin - Kevin Ryan & Tom Eaves
As shown in this contest last season, Kevin Ryan certainly knows what it takes to get a horse to run well in the 2000 Guineas as his runner # Hi Royal claimed 2nd spot at the odds of 125/1 a year ago! That was only the horse's fourth ever run, and he might have got even closer to the eventual winner Chaldean if he did not hang as badly left as he did in the closing stages. Therefore any unexposed runner of Kevin Ryan's has to be taken very seriously in a race of this nature, no matter it's previous form.
His runner this year, Inisherin, does lack the race experience compared to most of these, a 2nd on his racecourse debut, which was ultimately his only run as a 2yo, that was in a Newmarket maiden contest where he was a huge price and beaten by only half a length. That was also over the mile trip, so we know he does have some course and distance form to boot.
Kevin Ryan's son of Shamardal has since gone on to land a novice contest over the mile trip at Newcastle, where he beat Kalpana, who has since gone on to hack up since they met and gained the rating of 94, so the form of that novice race is very strong indeed.
That doesn't necessarily confirm him as a Guineas winner, but there is clearly some promise in the locker of this horse, and given the fact his trainer trained a huge-priced runner who placed last year, he can not be written off so easily, even if he is one of the outsiders in the field this year.
7 Night Raider - Karl Burke & Danny Tudhope
Karl Burke has been pretty bullish about this horse's chances for a few weeks now, stating during the week that he has not seen a horse work as well as Night Raider does at home since he started training in Middleham over 23 years ago. Given the calibre of horses Karl has had pass through his yard in previous years, that is a pretty big statement coming from him.
He would have to improve copious amounts to land the 2000 Guineas on just his 3rd ever start, given the fact he has not raced on turf and only saw the racecourse for the very first time back in December 2023, which is a slight negative when it comes to a race of this nature. However, the horse does not know that, so if he is good enough and has improved with each run, it should come to no surprise should we see him run well this Saturday.
Obviously the lack of turf racing is a huge negative, as both of his runs have been on the all-weather around Southwell, which is not the usual preparation for a 2000 Guineas, but he won both of those races by a combined 14 lengths and looked a very nice type whilst doing so. The one thing that really caught my eye on his last run, which was a 5-length victory in a novice contest carrying a penalty, was how he made all and really responded nicely when asked for more, plus he ran through the line like a freight train, which clearly suggests there is plenty more to come from this lad.
Karl Burke's confidence is an eye opener, and no matter the result of how he runs in the 2000 Guineas this weekend, I think he could be a very nice type for the yard to go to war with this season.
8 Notable Speech - Charlie Appleby & William Buick
It does seem fairly strange that we don't have more than one Godolphin runner in the first Classic of the season on Saturday, but just the one runner might be all the powerhouses need to land this contest. And their son of Dubawi does not have the usual Guineas profile that most of the Godolphin runners have had previously, as he made his debut late back in January and has since gone on to win two more races, so in total all three of his wins have come on the all-weather at Kempton.
That might seem a little off-putting, but as we know Charlie likes to send some nice types to have a spin around Kempton, and his runner Notable Speech could be a nice one in the making. His runner went on to land the Road To Kentucky Conditions Stakes at Kempton by a length, where a next time winner was in behind in 2nd that day, before going on to then land another conditions stakes contest with Valvano in behind that day, a potential Derby hope for Ralph Beckett.
That was a career best last time, and he did forge clear to go on and win it readily in the end, but the one slightly niggling thing for me is the fact he is lacking Group race experience, and that could come back to haunt him in the 2000 Guineas on Saturday. With that in mind however, it is a Godolphin horse trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by champion jockey William Buick, so he has to be taken very seriously no matter his previous form, especially at Newmarket where the yard’s runners always go very well.
9 Rosallion - Richard Hannon & Sean Levey
Richard Hannon can be quite bullish when it comes to his runners, and why shouldn't he be, he is clearly confident in his abilities as a trainer, but when speaking about this horse here, he just has that extra twinkle in his eyes, it is clear to see he thinks the world of his son of Blue Point.
Rosallion was a nice winner on debut at Newbury back in July last year, before going on to land a Listed contest at Ascot which has produced a fair few winners since, so the form of that race is red hot.
He then went on to finish 3rd in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster where he was sent off the odds-on favourite and was very much expected to win. But he could only manage 3rd in ground conditions that might not have suited at that stage, as well as getting hit in the nose on two different occasions by a rival's whip, which was unfortunate.
Ultimately he was a young horse at the time just having his thir ever run on a racecourse, so that probably did put him off slightly. However, that experience left no lasting effects as he then went on to land the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp in October during the Arc meeting. He took a very keen hold throughout the race that day, but that did not deter him as he soon flew clear in the closing furlong to win going away in the end by a length, ahead of Unquestionable, who is a decent horse in his own right.
The lack of prep run should be no issue, as the winners of the Guineas these days (especially the 2000) tend to not have any prep runs, but they do help in getting a horse fit and ready for the first classic of the season.
Rosallion will bid to become just the second ever horse to win the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and then the 2000 Guineas the following season - the last horse to do that was Rock Of Gibraltar for Aidan O'Brien back in 2001 and 2002. He is the fancy for quite a few heading into this weekend, and I can see why as his profile fits most of the main trends and stat angles.
10 Task Force - Ralph Beckett & Rossa Ryan
A huge ride for Rossa Ryan, who had a pretty productive season last term as well as on the all-weather during the winter, riding many winners as well as becoming the all-weather champion jockey with almost 30 more winners than his nearest rival.
Although his runner here is a relatively big-priced runner, he does arrive into this race off the back of a productive 2yo campaign last season, winning his first two races at Salisbury and Ripon, before then going on to come 2nd in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes, just 2 lengths or so behind the very talented Vandeek.
The one main concern for me with this horse is that he has not raced over the six-furlong trip, and given he was beaten by a horse in the Middle Park Stakes that is going down the sprinting route this season, it does leave a few question marks for me. However, his father arguably put in one of the greatest 2000 Guineas performances in the form of Frankel, so he is obviously bred to appreciate this sort of trip.
His run in the Middle Park stakes can be upgraded slightly as he was beaten by a real freak of a horse, who I think (providing he has trained on) will be a superstar sprinter this season. Task Force has an extra two furlongs to deal with here on Saturday, as well as the first run after a wind op, which can either mean a horse runs much better than expected on first run, or will need the run to "clear the airways" and will come on later in the season. He is a pretty big price at this stage, and if he can see out the trip, he might be one going slightly under the radar for a very capable trainer.
11 Ten Bob Tony - Ed Walker & Saffie Osborne
Good luck to Saffie Osborne, who gets her first ride in the classic contest this weekend, and although her mount is a huge price at this stage and probably does have to step up slightly in terms of previous form, his rating of 109 is not too far behind most of these and his yard is going pretty well at the moment.
Ten Bob Tony was a 5-length winner at Salisbury in his only victory as a 2yo, but he has looked to have trained on nicely when landing a very nice conditions contest at Newmarket over the 7-furlong trip last time, a length ahead of Boiling Point, who only just got beaten by a head or so by Alyanaabi when they met in the Group 3 at Newmarket last season.
Therefore the form of Ed Walker's horse from his win last time can be upgraded slightly, as he easily beat some decent types that day. With that in mind he would have to take another almighty step up in class here, but he has the winning form around Newmarket, so can probably not be discounted lightly even though he will most likely be the outsider of the field.
Recommended bet summary
- Best Bet - City Of Troy (4/6)
- Best each-way play - Ghostwriter (12/1)
- Outsider punt - Inisherin (40/1)
All prices are from Planet Sport Bet and are subject to change
All previews and tips provided by @ Jake Russell