Whatever happens on Saturday – Sunday is the time to take a deep breath and prepare for the big Meetings upcoming at Chester, Ascot and York as the Newmarket Guineas meeting closes out.
The 1000 Guineas is a potential straight shoot out between Desert Flower and Lake Victoria but not since 2016 has the favourite obliged in the fillies classic. In the subsequent 8 years there have been winners at 66/1, 28/1,16/1, 14/1, 10/1 and 9/1 twice.
The two fillies this year look exceptional let’s hope, for once, in this race the cream rises to the top.
The Haggas team have 3 horses going to post – starting with Anna Swan in the opener at 1.45. A new recruit from the Sir Michael Stoute yard, she has shown promise but this is a hot Pretty Polly with the favourite Falakeyah particularly impressive on debut and is not one to bet against on this her second outing.
In the 4.25 at Salisbury Gold Cup Day will possibly be marked up as favourite. His debut run at Newbury suggested he needed a lot more time before being ready to win and i suspect money will come for one or two of the unraced newcomers running for the bigger yards.
In the 5.20 Merchant attempts to follow up his victory last time out at Wolverhampton he only just got home in a race that was run in the fog.
That was his third run in under two months but it his form of his second run when second at Newcastle behind Gunship and in front of Fridays course winner Fort George that is of note. That was officially a class 3 0-90 whereas this race is supposedly a higher class 0-95.
However that is misleading the weights in the Fort George race were headed by a horse rated 90 where as Merchant heads the weights here off just 82.
The form of Gunship’s next race at Sandown looks one to follow backed up by Fort George’s win on Friday.
Merchant has been introduced at 2/1 into the betting. However unlike More Thunder there are question marks over Merchants ability to handle really fast ground and with the yards horses, that have not had a run in 2025 better for the race, there is no need to get involved at what is a short enough price
No Recommended Bet Sunday
Russ Diary of a Season
Chrysalis Consortium 
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