The 2011 2-y-o thread.

On watching a replay I see he did jink to the left in the final furlong, but it didn't matter as Apollo was much better anyway. Both horses though put some distance between them and the rest.
 
Some of the better, and more stoutly, bred 2-y-os starting to appear now and ENTIFAADHA made an impressive debut on the July Course yesterday. The William Haggas trained colt by Dansili out of a Kingmambo mare ran on well to win nicely by 2 3/4 lengths from some well-thought-of youngsters.

No quotes as yet for the 2000 Guineas.
 
33/1 with Stan James, Colin. It was a very nice performance and the time was pretty good. I thought Shane Kelly on the favourite, Burano, was very lucky not to get a ban for failing to ride out for third place in the same race. The stewards didn't even have him in.
 
The time was nothing special but there was just something about the performance of Fallen For You at Newmarket yesterday. She was slowly away but Buick just oozed confidence and she came from last to first very smoothly when asked. Gosden sounded pretty bullish - the Fillies' Mile via the May Hill is the plan, apparently.
 
Power is 7/4 favourite for the Phoenix Stakes on Sunday at the Curragh.

O'Brien has won 11 of the past 13 runnings of this prestigous race. Other likely winners include Lilbourne Lad, Frederick Engels and Tough as Nails.

Keeneland Phoenix Stakes

Paddy Power: 7-4 Power, 5-2 Lilbourne Lad, 4 Frederick Engels, 6 Reply, 9 Gatepost, Tough As Nails, 16 Qatar's Pearl, 25 Parish Hall, After, La Collina 33-1 bar
 
Frederick unlikely to run. Very little between the front two. Reply and Goalpost too short. Tough As Nails respected. The rest no where.
 
I'd expect a robust market. The Hannon horse has a fomline with Tough As Nails that put's him ahead of Power. Tough As Nails was unlucky to be beaten by Power but that was over 5f. It would be insane if Power was odds on. If Fredrick runs he will do well to be favourite at all.



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I spoke to Mulvaney recently and he was adament that there was better to come from Tough as Nails. Thought the horse could be held up and stay further.
 
Gearoid said:
Frederick unlikely to run. Very little between the front two. Reply and Goalpost too short. Tough As Nails respected. The rest no where.
Click to expand...

Where did you read/hear that?

This race has been a graveyard for Coventry winners with plenty stuffed (often by horses that were behind them at Ascot or who didn't appear to have the form in the book). The interesting point is that they're usually British trained horses turned over by a Ballydoyle horse. Three Valleys (by One Cool Cat), Red Clubs (by George Washington), Hellvelyn (by Holy Roman Emperor), Art Connoisseur (by Mastercraftsman) and Strong Suit (by Zoffany).

This time round it's O'Brien with the Coventry winner and he hasn't won it with a Coventry winner since Fasliyev in 99. Henrythenavigator was beaten by Saoirse Abu on heavy. Was Gatepost the unlucky/improving horse in this year's Coventry?

Railway Stakes winners have done well here, with Alfred Nobel, Mastercraftsman, Holy Roman Emperor and George Washington winning it recently. Again, all O'Brien. Will Lilbourne Lad continue that trend and turn it against him this time?

The formbook suggests there's not much between Power, Frederick Engels, Lilbourne Lad and Tough as Nails, but the formbook isn't always the best guide here.

O'Brien often runs his best Guineas type horse here so Power has to be respected. But it's interesting. I won't need a bet to enjoy it.
 
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Frederick is clearly an intended runner - his trainer is very bullish in today's Post - and in the light of that his price looks generous in the extreme. I don't have an account with Boylesports so I can't get the 9/2 but the 4s available elsewhere is well over the odds.
 
I assumed rightly or wrongly that Frederick Engels would run in France. Now that this is his intended target I've taken 7/2 with Powers. Anything over 9/4 is a bet in my book. I might save on Lisbourne Lad on the day but I will be against Power at anything under 5/2.



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Frederick Engels is a best-priced 7/2 now. Power is a stand-out 2/1 with Hills and Lilbourne Lad a stand-out 4/1 with Corals. It seems to me that bookies have recently become more willing to take a view on big ante-post races and price them up accordingly rather than following each other's prices like sheep. How much they will lay may be another matter but it's a welcome trend, nonetheless.
 
I would be loathe to oppose Power myself. I loved how strong he was at the line in the Coventry and he strikes me as one who has a fair amount of improvement in him. There isn't much between Power and Lilbourne Lad on a line through Tough As Nails and perhaps the price disparity between the two is too much but I just have a feeling the O'Brien horse might have a shade more scope.

I've always thought that horses coming from Royal Ascot to the Heinz were often found out by the often contrasting test in the shape of a stiff 6f almost invariably run at a strong gallop to what they had encountered at Ascot. With that in mind I'd be more than happy to oppose Frederick Engels (who I thought he killed them for pace at Newmarket in a race run at a pretty ordinary gallop for the first quarter mile or so) and Gatepost.
 
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There is also a decent Debutante Stakes half an hour earlier.

Maybe takes on Remember Alexander, with Rubina (Oxx), Yellow Rosebud (DKW), Ligthening Pearl (Lyons) and Teolane (Bolger) in opposition. As well as Maybe's stablemate Soon.
 
I see O'Brien runs the Galileo ex Alluring Park in the fillies maiden. After spending 1.2 million Guineas on the filly you would think they could come up with a better name than Was.
 
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