Saturday’s 2,000 Guineas may not be the straightforward task for Air Force Blue the betting suggests, with unexpected rivals still in the reckoning and a risk that the ground may go against him. Aidan O’Brien’s colt, the winner of three Group Ones as a juvenile, is on offer at just 4-6 with bookmakers for the first Classic of the year but still faces a possible 16 opponents after Monday’s five-day entry stage.
One of those, Galileo Gold was a shortener in the betting as he was all but committed to the race by his trainer, Hugo Palmer, whose previous inclination had been to wait for the French Guineas. Palmer reported that Frankie Dettori was so keen on the idea of Galileo Gold being switched to the Newmarket contest that the trainer, while taking part in a press conference in the town on Monday, missed four phone calls from the Italian, who was evidently keen to know the latest.
Dettori’s enthusiasm dates to a racecourse gallop in which he rode Galileo Gold a fortnight ago. “I wanted Frankie to sit on him, so he could get a feel for him and some real belief,” Palmer said. “I’ve kind of overdone it a bit because Frankie now has so much belief that he is really keen that we run here.
“The feel that he gave Frankie in his gallop during the Craven meeting, Frankie was really buzzing after it. I know Frankie’s a buzzy sort of person but he was really pumped. It’s exciting.”
For Galileo Gold to take part on Saturday, the going must be no faster than good. But it was already good before 3mm of lunchtime rain on Monday and more rain is forecast in varying quantities for each day this week. Newmarket’s clerk of the course expects that it will be good, good to soft or a mixture of the two for this coming weekend’s action.
That is among the reasons why Palmer is keen to press the button on Saturday rather than wait for the French Guineas 15 days later. “It’s here and now. We’ve got five days to keep him in one piece. He could stand on a stone on Monday, having decided we’ll wait for France. He’s healthy, he’s fit, he’s strong, he’s absolutely spot on.”
Although Galileo Gold is 25-1, Palmer is clearly not intimidated by Air Force Blue, describing him as “neither unbeaten nor unbeatable” and quickly picking a series of holes in the form of his Dewhurst success. “The second had only won a maiden, the third, Sanus Per Aqum, I don’t think is a superstar, the fifth was beaten at Lingfield the other day, the sixth is rated 98 and the seventh finished with a broken knee.”
Nor was that the end of Palmer’s reasons for doubting the favourite. “Aidan has talked a lot about how he wants fast ground,” he said and added in reference to Air Force Blue’s sire: “I’ve seen lots of very short-priced War Fronts getting beaten.”
Blue De Vega is another horse unexpectedly in contention for the race on Saturday, trainer Michael O’Callaghan having appeared to rule him out last week. The colt has continued to please in his home work and is now “50-50” to run on Saturday.
Representing O’Brien at the press conference, Kevin Buckley said all had gone well with the preparations of Air Force Blue and also Minding, the 6-4 favourite for Sunday’s 1,000 Guineas. He accepted that a fast surface would be preferable for Air Force Blue but dismissed concern about the colt’s status as a May foal, which would make him one of the youngest Guineas winners in recent decades.
Buckley said: “I haven’t had the opportunity of seeing him first hand but, judging from what I’m told by Aidan and the rest of the team how he’s developed himself physically, I don’t think he’s behind. It’s not an issue, it’s just a little bit of trivia, more than anything. There are plenty of good horses born in May.”
