Expert analysis on Sunday's 1000 Guineas including Ylang Ylang and Tamfana

Ylang Ylang, M'Lord?

Andrew Asquith

It looked an open renewal of the QIPCO 1000 Guineas beforehand and the fact that Elmalka, who started at 28/1, came home in front, with the runner-up 11/1 and the fourth 33/1, seemed to bring that theory to fruition.

Elmalka displayed a terrific attitude on what was just her third career start, coming from near enough last to first in what looked a truly-run race.

She isn’t in the Oaks, but connections will have a decision to make now whether they supplement or not after this performance, where just like at Newbury, she was very strong at the finish.

Of those who do hold entries at Epsom, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Ylang Ylang did her claims no harm at all.

Ylang Ylang isn’t all that big, but she was a 1,500,000 guineas purchase as a yearling and is very much bred to excel once tackling middle distances.

It isn’t a surprise given the connections she represents that she is the new favourite for the Oaks, and she certainly shaped like a horse who is now ready for further than a mile.

If the first five met each other again in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, I would probably favour the French-trained filly Ramatuelle, who showed a good turn of gear to go clear before being closed down.

A mile at Ascot on the Round Course should suit her well and it also wouldn’t give her rivals as much time to close her down if she was ridden in a similar manner.

Vive la France in Coronation

Matt Brocklebank

Quite the rollercoaster ride for those of us who backed Tamfana each-way at big prices in Sunday's 1000 Guineas...

There were a couple of low notes before the stalls even opened as the rapidly-drying ground at Newmarket - changed to Good, Good to Firm in places during racing - was always going to present a fresh challenge for David Menuisier's filly, who had done all of her (turf) racing in soft or heavy conditions, from Ffos Las on debut to Deauville's Prix Imprudence early last month.

She also got a little on her toes in the preliminaries, according to the paddock watchers, the relatively warm weather seemingly catching quite a significant number of horses out on the afternoon. But those initial fears vanished and hopes were suddenly quite high again as she travelled sweetly in behind what looked a really hot pace through the first two or three furlongs of the mile Classic.

Now, the first thing I must stress is that Jamie Spencer is and always has been one of my favourite jockeys, although I'm sure he'd be the first to admit that a speed-favouring Rowley Mile probably isn't the most suitable track when it comes to his consistently ballsy hold-up tactics. I was happy to take my chances at the prices on offer.

Spencer had Tamfana three from the back in those early stages and he's ended up being beaten a neck, a short-head and half a length into fourth, so he's obviously come close to executing the perfect ride, but the fact that the eventual winner Elmalka came from even further back (dead last to be precise) indicates something has gone awry, and it's pretty clear that moment came when Spencer briefly had to snatch up as the tiring, front-running Star Style landed on his lap running down into the dip.

Tamfana had nowhere good to go for several strides at that point and simply had to wait before being switched markedly left towards the stands' side for a run, by which point Silvestre De Sousa had already made the same (less exaggerated) move and skipped past a filly who was now forced to regather her moment.

That she did - in spades - looking to cover the final furlong quicker than anything else in the field, and there's no question she's a high-class filly in the making. The each-way thieves' rollercoaster still wasn't over, though, as there was nothing between Tamfana and Ylang Ylang to the naked eye as they passed the post.

Thankfully things ended on a high note, from a selfish perspective at least, but can Menuisier and connections now look forward to a shot at the Prix de Diane, or the Betfred Oaks itself, for which she was cut to as short as 7/1 in places?

Those revised quotes for Epsom look a bit over the top to me, the daughter of Soldier Hollow no doubt the eyecatcher of Sunday's race but no good thing to turn the tables on Aidan O'Brien's Ylang Ylang, who peaked as a two-year-old in the autumn and shaped like her comeback run would bring her on appreciably. Menuisier later confirmed that a return to France would be the next port of call for Tamfana.

As for a rematch between the first three - Elmalka, Porta Fortuna and Ramatuelle - in the Coronation Stakes next month, it's not hard not to envisage the rapid French filly, who was runner-up in the Prix Imprudence, being able to emerge on top around the bend at Royal Ascot. She's 7/1 now for that race with Sky Bet and three points bigger than her Newmarket conqueror, which doesn't appear a true reflection given how things played out on Sunday.

The winner of the Imprudence (seemingly a key piece of form among this year's crop of fillies), incidentally, was Charlie Appleby's Romantic Style, who holds entries in the Coronation and the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot, and is reportedly set to take in the French Guineas next Sunday beforehand.

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