3rd May 2025
The 2,000 Guineas Stakers is one of what are termed the Five British Horseracing Classics; the other four being The 1,000 Guineas, The Oaks, The Derby and The St. Leger. The race takes place at Newmarket, run over the Rowley Mile course which an L-shaped track i.e. not a loop like most courses. The race is restricted to three-year-old colts and fillies.
I missed the first race, as I had chosen to spend an hour or so poking about nearby St. Neots, and by the time of the main event of the day £40 of my play-money had almost magically disappeared due to Purosangue (7th), Hand of God (9th) and No Half Measures (also 9th) all failing to perform as I had expected.
In a desperate attempt to recoup some of my losses with my final tenner, in the 2,000 Guineas race I decided to do one of those Reverse Forecast things - i.e. picking the horses who would finish in the first two positions. 15/8 favourite Field of Gold was an obvious choice for one of the two top spots, but who else? Ruling Court at 9/2 and Expanded at 5/1 were the other favoured horses. I chose the latter, for no other reason than I had heard of the trainer Aiden O'Brien.
And with a grim inevitability, I watched Ruling Court and Field of Gold finish first and second respectively, leaving me trot towards the exit with empty pockets once more.
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The car park was a large unmarked field, and boy was I glad I had a red car.
Relatively easy to find amongst a sea of white and silver ones. |
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| Some folks had no difficulty finding their transport at the end of the day. |
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| The oddly-named Purosangue from Race Two. |
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| The finish of Race Two, won by Tom Marquand on More Thunder. |
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| Race Three and Ryan Moore doesn't know it, but he has my tenner on his back. |
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| All ready for the 2,000 Guineas... |
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| ...and won by Ruling Court, ridden by William Buick. |
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| The winning team. |
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