1,000 Guineas 2008 Preview

Tens of thousands of racing fans will converge on Newmarket racecourse this weekend to celebrate the launch of the summer flat racing season – the Guineas. While the racing is likely to be of the highest order there will be nothing summery about the experience, with rain predicted to fall on Suffolk throughout the weekend.

Although the weather may force race goers to swap coiffure for raincoats, the wet conditions will be welcomed by several of the trainers fielding entries in the 1,000 Guineas stakes. Foremost amongst these will be Pascal Bary, trainer of second favourite Natagora.

7/2 priced Natagora wintered in France and spent her pre-season training working over the notoriously heavy ground at Maissons Laffitte. Should conditions deteriorate further Natagora can look forward to pressing home a significant advantage over the horses that wintered on the well drained tracks of Suffolk.

John Gosden will be hoping to pick up one of two Guineas victories in the 1,000 Guineas on Sunday. While speculation that the trainer is on the verge of achieving a Classics clean sweep border on the fanciful, there’s little denying that he’s in with a good chance of claiming the fillies’ race.

Gosden will field two of the three shortest priced runners for the 1,000 Guineas 2008. His top ranked runner is race favourite Infallible, priced at 10/3 by William Hill. A John Gosden entry also occupies third place in the 1,000 Guineas 2008 odds tables with Muthabara priced at 4/1 by William Hill.

Punters looking to capitalise on longer odds runners in the 1,000 Guineas Stakes will be paying special attention to Aidan O’Brien’s Savethisdanceforme. Priced at 8/1 by William Hill, Savethisdanceforme looks to be an excellent each-way punt, particularly given her trainer’s knack for crafting Group One race winners.