Timeform provide an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Gstaad and deliver in Guineas
With no Bow Echo to worry about, Gstaad takes top billing on Saturday in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas the Curragh (15:40).
Aidan O’Brien’s son of Starspangledbanner has clearly done well from two to three judging by the impression he made at Newmarket; his performance in second around Timeform standard for a Guineas winner.
This time he is the potential superstar in the field and that is very much reflected by the Timeform ratings that have him 10lb clear of Distant Storm, Charlie Appleby’s horse with eight lengths to make up from Newmarket.
All of this is reflected in the odds, Gstaad trading at around 4/9 generally at the time of writing, but he deserves to be such a strong market leader.
One minor concern is that he was beaten at odds-on at this track at two in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, but he was bumped at the start and he was only beaten a head.
All in all, connections will be pretty disappointed if he doesn’t get his Guineas here, a win possibly setting up a mouthwatering rematch with Bow Echo at Royal Ascot in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Night now fulfilling potential
At Haydock it’s the Group 2 William Hill Temple Stakes (15:30) over five furlongs and with warm weather in store Friday and Saturday the ground should dry out suitably for Karl Burke’s Night Raider.
On his third start – and turf debut – at three he was an interesting outsider in the 2000 Guineas after two easy wins on the all-weather at Southwell over seven furlongs, but he pulled hard and finished 30 lengths behind Notable Speech.
Since that day he’s been working towards being reinvented as a sprinter and after a frustrating 2025, where he was winless in seven starts, thanks in part to being too keen even over five furlongs, he was gelded in the winter.
Returning in the Group 3 Palace House Stakes at Newmarket, he went with enthusiasm in the lead, several lengths clear approaching the final furlong and holding on from the fast-finishing Rumstar by half-a-length, the pair two-and-a-half lengths clear of the third.
Such brazen speed should lend itself well to Haydock and, 2lb clear on Timeform ratings, he will be hard to peg back once more as he attempts to set up a Group 1 tilt over five (or six) furlongs at Royal Ascot.
Danielle looks up for the Bronte Cup
There’s action at York as well on a busy Saturday and John & Thady Gosden’s Danielle takes the next step up the ladder in the Group 3 William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies’ Stakes over 1m6f at 15:15.
The daughter of Cracksman put in a career-best effort when wining at Doncaster in heavy ground over 10 furlongs on her final start last year, storming clear, and being a close relation to the same yard’s Ascot Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami it’s no wonder she goes back out in trip.
Indeed, she is entered in the Gold Cup, so it’s no wonder she is the standard-setter in this race and 9lb clear on Timeform ratings with a Horse In Focus flag to boot.
She’ll likely be odds-on for her seasonal reappearance, she certainly deserves to be and she should be hard to beat.
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