Qipco 1000 Guineas |
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| Group 1, Newmarket 15:45 £500,000 added, 3yo only, 1m, Class 1  |
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| Sunday 1st May 2016 | |
1 Minding 11/10F
2 Ballydoyle 15/2
3 Alice Springs 16/1
16 ran Distances: 3½l, ½l, nk
TIME 1m 36.53s (slow by 1.53s)
1-2-3 for Aidan O'Brien as Minding runs out an emphatic winner
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Those who got involved rarely had a moment's doubt in the race, as she travelled strongly and dispatched her 15 rivals without Ryan Moore even having to reach for top gear.
Ballydoyle, who was held up well in rear in the early stages, didn't enjoy the clearest of passages through the pack and might have got a little closer to the winner, but in truth this was a one-horse race.
Alice Springs finished third, just ahead of Mark Johnston's Fireglow, whose stablemate Lumiere totally failed to fire and was eased off to finish last by William Buick.
"Obviously they are three very top-class fillies and I'm delighted with the result - we thought that they were three very good fillies and it's a marvellous result," O'Brien told Channel 4 Racing.
"We always thought this was a very good filly, but a lot of people who have put a lot of hard work into her - she's something to really look forward to."
"I hadn't realised she'd won by three and a half lengths, but she obviously kept going. She doesn't stop. She keeps going. She's by Galileo and everything we've ever seen of a Galileo, they don't stop.
"Everyone will talk about what we do next. The lads will sit down and see what they want to do. We've always thought she would stay and it's very possible that she will go for the Oaks, but there is the option of going back to Ireland for the Irish Guineas on the way."
Minding is now the odds-on favourite for the Investec Oaks, but taking on the colts in the Derby 24 hours later could even now come under consideration.
Moore said: "She's out on her own, really. It wouldn't have been the plan [to race so prominently], we didn't go that quick early on but she hit the gates very well and I didn't want to be taking her back.
"I was expecting a bit more speed in the race. She's just faster than them and stays better than them. She's faster than them all.
"We were going very comfortably and had them all in trouble at halfway. [A mile and a half] is another question, but she looks like she'll go further."
O'Brien played down his achievements, both in terms of saddling the 1-2-3 and in sending out his 250th Group One winner.
"It's a team effort, we have a lot of great people at home and it's great for all of us," he said.
"Seamus gave Ballydoyle a lovely ride for second. She was a bit slowly away, but stayed on well. There could be the Irish 1000 Guineas for her. Alice Springs was a filly who we thought had come on for her first run and she'll come on for this as well, so we could look at the French Guineas for her."
Qipco 1000 Guineas Stakes
(British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£500,000 added, 3yo only, 1m, Class 1
16 ran
Going: Good
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (8) | Minding (IRE) 11/10f | R L Moore 9-0 |
A P O'Brien | 3 | |
| 2nd | (15) | 3½ | Ballydoyle (IRE) 15/2 | J A Heffernan 9-0 |
A P O'Brien | 3 |
| 3rd | (3) | ½ | Alice Springs (IRE) 16/1 | C O'Donoghue 9-0 |
A P O'Brien | 3 |
| 4th | (16) | nk | Fireglow 40/1 | James Doyle 9-0 |
M Johnston | 3 |
| 5th | (4) | 2 | Nathra (IRE) 8/1 | L Dettori 9-0 |
J H M Gosden | 3 |
| 6th | (13) | nk | Turret Rocks (IRE) 20/1 | K J Manning 9-0 |
J S Bolger | 3 |
| 7th | (12) | 1 | Mix And Mingle (IRE) 50/1 | T E Durcan 9-0 |
C F Wall | 3 |
| 8th | (14) | hd | Midweek 12/1 | Vincent Cheminaud 9-0 |
Mme C Head-Maarek | 3 |
| 9th | (5) | 1 | Jet Setting (IRE) 33/1 | S Foley 9-0 |
A Keatley | 3 |
| 10th | (2) | 3¼ | Aljazzi 100/1 | Jim Crowley 9-0 |
M Botti | 3 |
| 11th | (11) | ½ | Epsom Icon 100/1 | Charles Bishop 9-0 |
M R Channon | 3 |
| 12th | (1) | 4 | Robanne 50/1 | S De Sousa 9-0 |
W J Knight | 3 |
| 13th | (6) | 2¼ | Blue Bayou 50/1 | J Fortune 9-0 |
B J Meehan | 3 |
| 14th | (9) | 5 | Illuminate (IRE) 25/1 | P J Smullen 9-0 |
R Hannon | 3 |
| 15th | (7) | 6 | Sharja Queen 66/1 | Andrea Atzeni 9-0 |
R Varian | 3 |
| 16th | (10) | 2 | Lumiere 13/2 | W Buick 9-0 |
M Johnston | 3 |
