On Saturday morning James Doyle was 18 years into his career in the saddle, much of it spent riding for the Godolphin operation, and still wondering if or when his first British Classic might arrive. By Sunday evening he had two to his name.
With a brave and impeccably judged front‑running ride on Cachet, at 16-1, George Boughey’s filly held on by a neck to win the 1,000 Guineas from the 33-1 outsider Prosperous Voyage, with the well-backed Tuesday just under two lengths away in third.
Cachet was stepping up to a mile for the first time but Doyle showed no interest in riding her to get the trip, sending her straight into a lead that she never seemed likely to surrender. One by one, her rivals tried and failed to reel her in and, while Prosperous Voyage was making significant headway in the closing stages, the line was always going to arrive in time for the leader.
Doyle was clearly emotional after Coroebus’s win in the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday but he seems to be getting used to the experience and was more matter-of-fact about this second Classic in two days.
“I really just got the chance to enjoy today,” he said. “We knew she kind of wears her heart on her sleeve and knows this track inside out, so I felt as long as we could get those cheap sectionals midway I could be brave and let her use her stride into the Dip.
“She goes through it so well that it’s almost like she eyes it up from a way out and she really let rip through it, so it was just a case of hoping she’d hang on to the line.”
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It was left to Boughey to look astonished by the outcome, as the 30-year-old trainer is in only his third full season with a licence. “I absolutely didn’t think I’d be here so soon. We had four horses two years ago and the highest-rated was 62,” he said. “To have a filly like her and several others is amazing and to do it for [owner] Highclere [Thoroughbreds] is amazing. They’ve got six horses with me and it’s just massive to pay them back.
“The question was always going to be whether she stayed. She’s got a really big heart and she’s very straightforward. She’s a Group One winner over a mile now and she can go anywhere in the world, which is massive. The fact that she likes fast ground makes her a global filly which is huge for us and huge for her so it’s very exciting.
“It sounds bizarre coming out of my mouth. I dreamt of having a winner at Bath two years ago, let alone the Guineas.”
Cachet is likely to run next in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot while Boughey also hopes to return to the Breeders’ Cup meeting in the United States in November, at which Cachet finished a close fourth in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf last season.
Tuesday, who had only two runs in the book before the race on Sunday, remains favourite for the Oaks at Epsom on 3 June, a race which her full sister, Minding, won in 2016. She was not making ground on the winner as readily as Prosperous Voyage in the closing stages, however, and 3-1 makes little appeal with several major Oaks trials ahead over the next fortnight.
Kempton Park
1.00 Mandocello
1.35 Calva D’Auge
2.10 Outlaw Peter
2.45 Danny Kirwan
3.20 Northern Bound
3.55 Slate House
4.30 Lady Reset
Bath
1.21 Hot Hot Hot
1.56 Byefornow
2.31 Airshow (nap)
3.05 Songo
3.41 Aryaah
4.16 Granary Queen
4.51 Sir Duke
Beverley
1.31 Bara Lacha
2.06 May Blossom
2.41 Martin’s Brig
3.16 Truely Aclaimed
3.51 Motarajel
4.26 Yummylicious
5.01 Billy Mcgarry
Windsor
2.16 Firenze Rosa
2.51 Gidwa
3.26 Majeski Man (nb)
4.01 Excel Power
4.36 Super Lover
5.10 Tio Mio
5.45 The Writer
Warwick
2.25 Jean Genie
3.00 Prime Time Lady
3.35 Heritier
4.10 Castkitello
4.45 Rockstar Ronnie
5.20 El Borracho
5.50 Jersey Lady
With The Moonlight, in Godolphin blue, staked her claim for a place in the field at Epsom earlier on the Sunday card, pulling nearly five lengths clear of her field in the Pretty Polly Stakes.
“The race did fall apart a little bit,” Charlie Appleby, With The Moonlight’s trainer, said, “but Will [Buick, her jockey] said what pleased him was that, when it fell apart, he had to go through the gears and she’s found all the way to the line.”
