Andy Holding shares his ante-post tip for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May.
1000 Guineas - Winner
While the dust settles in between the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National at Aintree, the small matter of the UK Flat season is upon us and before we know it, discussions will turn to who is going to take the first two Classics of 2023.
Finding an angle for either race at this stage is naturally quite tricky, but there are always one or two clues out there that might help with the process.
Having a horse who has already had a run in recent times has to be seen as some sort of advantage, so with that in mind, DREAM OF LOVE is one who comes into the conversation at the very least for the 1000 Guineas.
Extremely well-backed to land her latest encounter out in the Meydan desert, the daughter of Shamardal soon found herself in an uncompromising position after a couple of furlongs and although she almost pulled off the impossible task at hand (only one behind her at halfway), the more forwardly-ridden and experienced Mawj just had enough of a head start to hold off her late burst.
Looking at her data from that conditions event for fillies it revealed she ran the last three furlongs in 34.9, which was 1.3 seconds quicker than the eventual winner and also better than Coachello (36.0) who took the listed 6f sprint and the 110-rated miler Naval Crown (35.6) in the final race on the card.
Based on these numbers, she clearly is a very talented filly capable of a very strong burst of speed and considering the seven-furlong journey would have been a little short of her optimum, there’s every chance she will improve when back over further.
It’s also been good to see the form work out well with Mawj going on to win again since and the fourth horse home, Perdika, land a listed contest for George Boughey at Chantilly on her return to these shores.
"Everything should be geared up for a big run should she get to Newmarket in one piece"
Looking at her only two starts as a juvenile, the first point to raise is that both took place over the Rowley Mile, which surely has to stand her in good stead when it comes to Guineas day, and secondly, she’s pretty versatile regarding underfoot conditions, making her a decent ante-post proposition.
Probably just a little keen for her own good when seeing far too much daylight in the early stages of the Listed Montrose Stakes on her final start as a two-year-old, she did really well to keep on as strongly as she did despite expending a good deal of energy and now she seems a much more mature filly based on her latest exploits, everything should be geared up for a big run should she get to Newmarket in one piece.
