Major race entries 2008: 2000 Guineas | 1000 Guineas | Derby | Oaks | Coronation Cup

Classic countdown, w/c: 7 April | 14 April | 21 April 2008 | 28 April | 5 May | 12 May | 19 May | 26 May

---

Sunday 27 April 2008

Sir Michael Stoute's three-year-old full brother to 2000 Guineas winner Golan, Tartan Bearer (Spectrum - Highland Gift, by Generous) was an eyecatching second in a Newmarket maiden on his only start at two.

Making his seasonal debut in a 10f maiden at Leicester on Saturday, Tartan Bearer raced under Alan Munro's restraint in the early stages before making his move two furlongs out, surging clear of the pack to register a two and three quarter length vistory over stablemate Warringah.

Totesport went 16-1 for the Derby after the win, and the run is sure to have brought the colt on, though plans for his next run ahve not yet been announced.

Centennial will go for the Dante or the Lingfield Derby Trail after winning the Sandown Classic Trial on his seasonal debut.

Winning trainer John Gosden said of the colt: "I'm very satisfied. The four other winners of this had been primed for it, with a run before to get them right. Today was just the start for this horse and I think he will come on significantly for it. He's only worked alongside other horses and Jimmy Fortune's comment was that he'll get better with age.

"I think we'll probably go for the Dante where we'll be taking on a certain very talented horse called Twice Over. Otherwise we'll take a look at the Derby Trial at Lingfield."

Mick Channon's 1000 Guineas pair of Nahoodh and Nijoom Dubai were turned over in their trials and face work outs on Tuesday to determine their participation at Newmarket.

"I'm very positive about both of them," the trainer told www.mickchannon.tv. "Nahoodh was disappointing but she's come out of it great. It was a muddling race and she didn't pick up. There is still a week to go and I'm leaving her and Nijoom in the race. We'll see how they go on Tuesday before finalising plans."

Last season's Cheveley Park Stakes winner Natagora is reported to be on track for the 1000 Guineas. Owner Stefan Friborg's racing manager Patrick Barbe reported: "Everything is under control following her reappearance and she went quietly on the grass again on Wednesday. It was just an easy canter and she is happy - eating well and training well. All the lights are green and we hope for the best.

---

Saturday 26 April 2008

Lord Lloyd-Webber's beautifully bred Dar Re Mi (Singspiel) could be Oaks-bound after an impressive seven length victory in a 10f Sandown maiden on Friday.

Always in control under Jimmy Fortune, Dar Re Mi quickened smartly in the fianl two furlongs to beat Icon Project comprehensively.
Winning trainer John Gosden said: "She was a little round ball of a filly last spring and did nothing but grow, so we
were careful with her. She's a very tall, elegant filly now and has done very nicely through the winter. We think she'll come on for the race and, all being well, we'll point towards the Musidora. If everything goes right there, we'll start thinking about the Oaks. She's quite leggy, but very
quick on her feet and is a ballet dancer, so she's got the
balance for Epsom."

---

Friday 25 April 2008

Gerry Oldham is no stranger to success at the highest level having seen his mighty stayer Sagaro win three Gold Cups at Ascot, but, despite a trio of Irish Classic triumphs as well as Zino’s 1982 2000 Guineas win and Intermezzo’s success in the 1969 St Leger, he is yet to capture an Epsom Classic. That could change this year as his filly Albisola is held in high regard and holds an entry for the Juddmonte Oaks on Friday, June 6 - Ladies Day.

Albisola, a Montjeu filly trained by Robert Collet in France, has won two of her three starts, including a fine victory on her seasonal reappearance in the Listed Prix Finlande over nine furlongs at Longchamp on April 6.

The octogenarian Oldham revealed today: "We’ve entered her in the Juddmonte Oaks and the Prix de Diane and she will hopefully run in one or the other. We are just as likely to meet the best animals wherever we go, so we will keep our options open. The French-trained fillies seem to be a stronger bunch at the moment but it is early days and there could be some good horses that have not even run yet.

"I’ve bred the family for about four generations. Originally, Peter Wragg bought a mare in Italy called Primula and her daughter was Caprera who gave me a great deal of top quality winners. She’s from my best family and it’s nice to see them doing well.

"Albisola won her last race on heavy ground really well. Being by Montjeu, she might prefer an easier surface but it was more difficult for us because she was meeting fillies who had already had a run this season and that makes a big difference at this time of year.

"She won that very well but we’ll see how good she is later on in the season. The immediate objective might be the Group One Prix Saint-Alary at Longchamp on May 18, which I won with Lacovia before she won the Prix de Diane. If Albisola does well there then we would have the option of either the Juddmonte Oaks or the Prix de Diane.

"We’ve had a pretty quiet time for a while now but we’ve had some Classic success before with Talgo and Fidalgo in the Irish Derby and Lucero won the Irish 2,000 Guineas in the days of Harry Wragg. I’m sure that Albisola will do her best to try and add to that success"

Division one of the Robert Sangster Memorial Maiden Fillies’ Stakes at Newbury on Friday, April 18, could have a bearing upon this year’s Juddmonte Oaks as the first three home are engaged in the mile and a half Classic.

The 10-furlong race, which was won in 2005 by Eswarah on her way to Oaks success, saw the Roger Charlton-trained Clowance emerge victorious by a length and a quarter from Montbretia, owned by Khalid Abdulla and trained by Henry Cecil, with the Clive Cox-trained Miracle Seeker third.

The successful Montjeu filly will continue along the Eswarah route as she is set to contest the Swettenham Stud Stakes back at Newbury on May 16.

Across the Irish Sea at Leopardstown, the Ballydoyle filly Moonstone made her debut against some useful colts in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Stakes over 10 furlongs on April 20. The Sue Magnier-owned daughter of Dalakhani had a nice introduction under Johnny Murtagh, staying on noticeably to finish second, with stablemate and Vodafone Derby entry William Hogarth in third.

Derby-winning trainer John Gosden has Centennial, currently the 12/1 third favourite for the Derby, who is set to make his three-year-old debut in the Casino At Bet365.com Classic Trial at Sandown on Saturday, as well as Ridge Dance and the progressive Bronze Cannon. The last-named completed a hat-trick when edging out Irish Derby entry Doctor Fremantle to win a 10-furlong handicap at Newmarket on April 17.

---

Thursday 24 April 2008

The Eric Libaud-trained Vision d'Etat will contest the Prix du Jockey-Club in June after running out an emphatic winner of the Listed Prix Suresnes over 10f at Chantilly on Thursday.

The winner picked up well for Ioritz Mendizabal, winning by a comfortable three lengths ahead of Magadan, who was later disqualified and placed last after interfering with Americain, who finished last.

Eric Libaud told the Racing Post after the race: "He is a very tense individual who must have five or six weeks between races. The colt appears to run on something like Zantac. He has now deserved a run in the Jockey-Club. He is an anxious colt but one with a fine turn of foot."

Craven Stakes winner Twice Over is to bypass the 2000 Guineas. Trainer Henry Cecil had sounded a cautious note immediately after the Observatory colt, who won over 10f as a two-year-old, beat Raven's Pass in the one mile contest.

Owner Prince Khalid Abdulla's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said in a statement: "After consulting with Henry Cecil, Prince Khalid has decided that the colt will miss the 2000 Guineas and run in the totesport.com Dante Stakes at York with a view to going to the Vodafone Derby.

"If after the Dante it was thought that the colt would not stay a mile and a half, then the Prix du Jockey Club would become an option.

"The decision was taken with the colt's long term future in mind."

---

Wednesday 23 April 2008

Curtain Call (Sadler's Wells -Apsara, by Darshaan), the winner of the Group Two Beresford Stakes last season when trained by Jessica Harrington, was cut to 7-1 second favourite for the Derby after a smooth six length victory in the intercasino.co.uk Conditions Stakes at Nottingham on Wednesday on his debut for new trainer Luca Cumani. The Lingfield Derby Trial is the colt's next target.

John Dunlop thinks his Fred Darling winner Muthabara could step up beyond a mile later in the summer. Looking forward to running the Red Ransom filly in the 1000 Guineas, Dunlop told At The Races: "She's very straightforward. She has a good attitude, a good character and she eats very well. I spoke to Richard Hills and he thinks she'll stay very well. She got the trip so well in the Fred Darling that we think she'll get a mile and a quarter, if not a mile and a half.

"But so much depends on other things like the draw, the ground and where you're going to be in the field. I think ideally we'd like to be drawn in the first four either side."

The first forfeit stage for the 2000 Guineas and the 1000 Guineas sees 30 go forward for the colts' Classic and 28 for the fillies' - click on the links above to view the latest entries.

Latest betting with Stan James for the stanjamesuk.com 2000 Guineas:

9/4 New Approach, 9/2 Raven’s Pass, 5/1 Twice Over, 7/1 Ibn Khaldun, 10/1 Jupiter Pluvius, 16/1 Henrythenavigator, Fast Company, 20/1 Perfect Stride, Rio De La Plata, 25/1 Fireside, Stimulation, Paco Boy, 33/1 bar

Latest betting with Stan James for the stanjamesuk.com 1000 Guineas

7/2 Infallible, 4/1 Muthabara, 9/2 Natagora, 11/2 Spacious, 14/1 Kitty Matcham, Savethisdanceforme, 16/1 Laureldean Gale, Psalm, 20/1 Visit, Nahoodh 25/1 Lush Lashes, 33/1 bar

George Strawbridge's homebred Destare, a half sister to Group One winner Montare, could run in the Prix d'Essai des Pouliches after winning a Class B event at Saint-Cloud on Tuesday, her third start.

Quickening well under Olivier Peslier, trainer Jonathan Pease will consider the May 11 Classic for the Desert Prince filly.

---

Monday 21 April 2008

Last year's champion juvenile, the unbeaten New Approach, is likely to run in the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Irish Derby rather than the Vodafone Derby at Epsom.

Trainer Jim Bolger told PA Sport: "We're going to take it step by step but Sheikh Mohammed, Princess Haya and John Ferguson have left the horse's programme to me.

"I would be more keen to go to the Irish Guineas with him and then to the Irish Derby. It's not that I'm shying away from Epsom, but I've not won the Irish 2000 Guineas before and I'd like to win it," added Bolger.

Henry Cecil's Craven Stakes winner Twice Over is 9-2 favourite for the Derby. He is by Observatory, who does not have a great record with middle distance horses. The vast majority of his progeny run over 7 to 9 furlongs, with 36 wins from 442 starts (8%). 10-11 furlongs sees 6 wins from only 70 starts (9%) and 12-13 furlongs a solitary win from 44 starts (2%)

Leading Oaks fancy Chinese White, from the first crop of Dalkhani, is to make her seasonal return in the Listed Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes at Gowran Park on May 4, trainer Dermot Weld reports.

Weld told PA Sport: "She is perfect and in really good order. She has been a bit slow to come forward. A lot of my horses have been very forward but she has been hanging on to her coat. The plan is to start her off in two weeks' time in a nine-and-a-half-furlong fillies' trial at Gowran. That is the earliest she will be out and we will take it one day at a time from there."

Weld was on the mark at Leopardstown on Sunday with a possible Irish Derby contender in Winchester, the winner of the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden, where he beat Oaks entry Moonstone in second.

Weld said: "He was a little green when he hit the front and has a little to learn but he is a nice, progressive colt. I trained his dam and his sire and I think he has the breeding and the looks of a very nice horse. He could come back here for the Derrinstown or go to the Gallinule and I see him as an Irish Derby horse."

Weld's Famous Name beat Moiqen by four lengths in the Leopardstown 2000 Guineas Trial, but Weld reports he is likely to bypass Newmarket in favour of the Irish or French Guineas - owner Khalid Abdulla has Twice Over and Confront as other possibles for the Rowley Mile.

Kevin Prendergast's Moiqen won a perhaps rather ordinary Ballysax Stakes on Sunday, giving Darley sire Red Ransom a quick Group Three trial double, after Muthabara's victory in the Fred Darling on Saturday.

Moiqen stayed on strongly after taking the lead in the final quarter mile of the 10f contest to beat Hebridean once more. Prendergast said after the race: "He wants the ground a bit quicker and he will be a better horse on better ground. He is the best I have got and he is highly rated, so he is entered in everything including the Derby at Epsom. He might come back here for the Derrinstown but we'll see how he comes out of this and let the boss decide."

Derby winner High Chaparral had his first stakes winner on Sunday when the progressive Senlis (High Chaparral - Senebrova, by Warning) won the Group Three Premio Parioli over a mile at Rome, romping home by six lengths from Eustachione. Eldest was third.

Greenham Stakes winner Paco Boy could be supplemented for the 2000 Guineas. Derek Lucie-Smith of the Calvera Partnership told the Daily Mail: “We are considering the English or French Guineas. We are quite excited. Paco Boy won the Greenham in a time one and a half seconds faster than Muthabara won the Fred Darling over the same course and distance and she is favourite for the 1000 Guineas."