1,000 Guineas

Newmarket 3.05
StanJames.com 1000 Guineas Stakes (Group 1) (Fillies) (Class 1) (3YO only)
Winner £227,080


Picks: Music Show, Rumoush (e/w)


Blue Maiden: Built on promising debut second to Lady Pattern at Newbury when getting off the mark at Newmakret and taking major step forward when then finishing second behind Long Lashes in the Sweet Solera Stakes (foot problem final start so not worth assessing on that run); Ran well in Nell Gwyn but Music Show will be 3lbs better off and that vies her an awful lot to do.

Devoted To You: 3rd behind subsequent Group 3 winner Cabaret and unraced since Rahaya Cass on 1st 2 outings before running away with Galway maiden by 9 lengths; Been making steady process since, and seeing how she has had a run already (better than bare for of that, rider put up overweight; ground soft), will be no surprise to see her show prominently here.

Distinctive: Impressive Redcar maiden winner and same result when stepped up in class in Ayr Group 3; form of that race had doubts over it in the shape of draw bias towards her side (Lowther second Beyond Desire 1st of her Group in fourth) and her runs in the Rockfel and Nell Gwyn give her a lot to make up here.

Gile Na Greine: Looked out of her depth at Group 1 level when fifth in the Moyglare and looked like she already needed further than this when staying on but not really threatening at Dundalk.

Habbiybib: Impressive winner of Albany Stakes at Royal Meeting, beating many subsequent winners in the process; Didn’t exactly do badly when 2nd to Misheer in Cherry Hinton Stakes and reportedly had ringworm last 2 year old start; Started back on right track when coming second in Fred Darling and has to improve again; Trip not a problem from where I’m standing.

Hibaayeb: Improved all the time and is still rather unexposed on the basis of her 4 runs as a 2 year old, which included a Fillies’ Mile win on her last start as a 2 year old; Not much wrong with that although switch of yard raises slight concern and no certainty to uphold form with number of horses.

Principal Role: Blew the start and recovered in fine style to win a Yarmouth maiden, her only run so far; Has a lot to find on her run her last time, when quickly fading at business end of things when behind Music Show last time.

Lady Darshaan: Built up some good group form to her name, staying on well at the end of the Cherry Hinton Stakes and stepped up miles on that when an unlucky second in the Fillies Mile (struck on nose when laying down a challenge); If she were to show best of her form, as good a chance as anything.

Misheer: Blasted the field to pieces on debut before gutting out listed race win; Then had good spell in Group 2 company since, coming 2nd behind Jealous Again in Queen Mary Stakes before blistering the field in Cherry Hinton Stakes; Blazed a trial and flattened out in Flying Childers Stakes but that not true running, and ran on strongly to nap Lady Of The Desert next time out (behind Special Duty): Threw away the race by pulling too hard when fourth last time but held on that and didn’t stay anyway.

Music Show: Was very progressive as a 2 year old, winning 3 out of her four starts including the Rockfel Stakes and confirmed that promise when giving weight and a beating to Blue Maiden last time over 6f here; Came from some way back and really stayed on, so 1m will suit and has to be taken seriously here with Ryan Moore a bonus on board.

Nuture: Progressive maiden with Richard Hannon last season, leading all the way into the final 100 yards before being nailed by Timepiece in a listed contest; Would need to really improve on that to be competitive.

Pipette: Hard to know whether she actually improved on her listed third when winning easily on her season reappearance at Kempton; Likely to come on again but all her form needs improving on.

Pollenator: Took time to get to her best as a 2 year old but showed what she really could do when winning 7f maiden and more importantly May Hill Stakes on her final start; That form good, but reasons for thinking she could be overturned by the 2 she finished in front last year.

Puff: Won impressively on the AW 1st time out; Form of that race really been working out well with the 2nd winning by 7 lengths next time and then winning a listed race at Deauville; Her 4th in the Lowther was a good run and so was her run in the Chevley Park; Improved on both when landing Fred Darling last time, and by no means out of it.

Rumoush: Impeccably-bred filly (half-sister to Ghanaati and Mawatheeq) who made a promising winning debut over 1m at Lingfield last November; Made a very impressive winning debut over this course in the Fielden Stakes (1m1f) and should be in the shake up on that evidence, not to mention having the edge in stamina and fitness, which could be crucial.

Sent From Heaven: Has done nothing wrong so far, especially when landing a Group 3 event at Goodwood, and although she ran perfectly fine race in Fillies’ Mile (swished tail), could be left behind on that evidence.

Seta: Well-regarded and romped home on debut by 7 lengths; Disappointing in May Hill Stakes but better than that result of that form (probably suffered from immaturity and being unable to sustain a challenge); No surprise if she were to reverse form from that but still has a lot to do on what she has archived so far, even allowing for the fact that she will improve massively for an extra year.

Special Duty: Very worthy favourite on the basis of her high class 2 year old form, where she won the Chevley Park Stakes in good style, to add to her Prix Robert Papin win and excellent Prix Morny second; Needed the run on ground too soft on her reappearance run but that didn’t answer the question of whether she would stay, which is a big one; Arguably best horse in race.

VERDICT: As tricky a classic as we could get all year, highlighted by the fact that Pipette, Seta, Special Duty Blue Maiden, Distinctive, Habaayib, Hibaayeb, Jacqueline Quest, Lady Darshaan, Misheer, Music Show, Pollenator, Puff and Sent From Heaven have raced against each other in multiple races. Special Duty is the obvious place to start, and it’s a very good thing that she’s had a run. She’ll take all the beating, but she has stamina questions to answer and that’s a big worry. Even though Seta will be much, much better as a 3 – year old, she’s still under-priced on what she’s achieved so far. Pollenator could do really well here but it’s hard to know whether she’ll have made enough progress to keep the likes of Seta off. In all of this, the one horse that has been badly overlooked is MSUIC SHOW, who showed that she had trained on when winning the Nell Gwyn, giving 3lbs and a beating to Bleu Maiden, having come from way back. Her race – fitness could be crucial and she actually looks pretty good on the basis of her two runs, in a race where a lot of horses have questions over them. The other is RUMOUSH, who has won both her starts, has scope for progress,. Will be fit, and is bred for the job, so on that alone has more going for her than most.