TimeformBlog

A maximum field of 15 will line up for the 2000 Guineas on Saturday, with Dream Ahead the most notable absentee at the latest declaration stage, whilst 23 have been declared for the 1000 on Sunday...

Dream Ahead's participation on Saturday had long been in doubt, with his trainer David Simcock expressing fears about running the colt on ground on the quick side of good, and he has now been taken out.

Frankel, who currently trades at 1.64, will be bidding to give his trainer Henry Cecil his first 2000 Guineas winner since the 1970s, when he saddled Bolkonski and Wollow to Newmarket success in consecutive years. The Jessica Harrington-trained Pathfork is second favourite at 8.8, while Aidan O'Brien's Roderic O'Connor is next in at 12.0.

All of the leading contenders for the 1000 Guineas have stood their ground, with Moonlight Cloud 5.5, Havant 6.8 and Memory 7.6 continuing to battle it out at the head of the market. Moonlight Cloud currently holds sway as she seeks to become the third French-trained 1000 Guineas winner in the last four years, after Natagora in 2008 and Special Duty in 2010.

As expected, Richard Fahey's Nell Gwyn winner Barefoot Lady has been supplemented as a cost of £30,000, and she can currently be backed at 26.0.

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