With champion two-year-old and odds-on favourite City of Troy a big disappointment, it was a very rare 2000 Guineas where juvenile form was of no help at all in finding the winner as 16/1 shot Notable Speech – second only to City of Troy on Timeform ratings beforehand – didn’t make his debut until January this year. That made him the first 2000 Guineas winner since Pasch in 1938 not to have run at two.
However, he’d made a very big impression in winning all three of his starts at Kempton, notably last time, and he marked himself out as a potentially top-class miler on his first start on turf, impressing with his turn of foot at the end of a well-run race. In a career just months old, there’s surely more to come from him and it’s hard to see any of those he beat here reversing the form in the St James’s Palace Stakes where he heads next.
There was an even longer-priced winner of a more open-looking 1000 Guineas a day later. Elmalka began her career on the all-weather like Notable Speech, only doing so in a novice at Southwell in late-November after all the big two-year-old contests had been run, and she was only the third filly this century to win the 1000 Guineas after just two starts.
She pulled off an unlikely-looking victory from the rear after a slow start as, although still green, she found plenty to lead in the final strides for a neck win over the Cheveley Park Stakes winner Porta Fortuna who lacked the prep run enjoyed by the other principals.
Elmalka isn’t the biggest but she’s from an excellent family (dam Nahrain won the Prix de l’Opera for the same connections) and she’s open to further improvement, including if upped to a mile and a quarter. However, with with five fillies finishing within barely a length of one another and considering the level of form coming into the race, there are obvious grounds for rating this a substandard Guineas.
In contrast to the 1000 Guineas, the Pretty Polly Stakes earlier on Sunday’s card looked a strong renewal with two smart fillies pulling a long way clear of the rest.
The Gosden stable has a good record in the Pretty Polly and Friendly Soul (113p from 80p) found huge improvement from her winning debut at Kempton late last year, impressing with the way she travelled before holding off the odds-on Kalpana (110p from 96p).
Friendly Soul, by the same sire as the 1000 Guineas winner, Kingman, looks like she’ll stay further but doesn’t hold an Oaks entry and could go for the Prix de Diane next. Kalpana improved significantly again in keeping on well for second and remains one to follow, entered in the Ribblesdale Stakes but looking worth supplementing for the Oaks on this evidence.
The five colts finished well strung out in Friday’s Newmarket Stakes which means the form isn’t the easiest to pin down but four-length winner Caviar Heights very much looks the part and built significantly on his promising return when third in the Feilden Stakes at the Craven meeting last month with the extra emphasis on stamina – he was going a furlong further this time - looking to suit him.
He’s from a speedy family but clearly taking much more after his sire Sea The Stars; he’ll stay a mile and a half and holds a Derby entry.
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