Guelph Handy Winner of Thousand Guineas
Description:
Darley's powerful filly Guelph shot out of the gate at the start of the Thousand Guineas (Aus-I) Oct. 16 and overwhelmed eight overmatched opponents in a front-running romp at Caulfield.
The 7-5 favorite, Guelph set a solid pace under Kerrin McEvoy and sealed the easy win at the top of the straight. Runner-up May's Dream and third-place finisher Gregers pursued through the straight but never threatened the winner, who cruised across the finish line 1 3/4 lengths clear.
Guelph finished the 1,600-meter (about one-mile) contest in 1:37.78 to tally her second group I win of the season and fourth top-level win overall among six victories from 10 career starts.
Trainer Peter Snowden wants to send Guelph for a rest rather than aim for the W. S. Cox Plate (Aus-I), Australia's premier weight-for-age race, where she would take on Darley's recent Caulfield Guineas (Aus-I) winner Long John Oct. 26 at Moonee Valley.
"I've made it known all along that I'd like to stop with her now, but the boys will have a talk and chat to the boss (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum) at home to see what his thoughts are, but we'll come up with the right decision I hope," Snowden told Australia's Associated Press.
Guelph posted a third successive win from four starts this season, entering off a 3 1/2-length victory in the Coolmore Flight Stakes (Aus-I) Oct. 10 and a 1 3/4-length win in the Coolmore Tea Rose Stakes (Aus-II) Sept. 21 at Royal Randwick.
She closed her juvenile campaign in April with back-to-back group I wins in the Moet & Chandon 150th Champagne Stakes and the Inglis Sires' Produce Stakes, but in voting for Australia's champion 2-year-old filly honors finished second to Golden Slipper Stakes (Aus-I) winner Overreach. With the Thousand Guineas victory, she established herself as Australia's leading sophomore filly.
Both Guelph and Overreach are by Darley's Exceed And Excel, who was the last season's champion sire.
Guelph is out of Australian group I winner Camarilla, by Elusive Quality . Her second dam Camarena won the 1999 Queensland Derby (Aus-I) and is a full sister to the dam of Australian champion and young Darley stallion Sepoy.