Swingalong wins the Sky Bet Lowther

French 1000 & 2000 Guineas preview: What the connections say

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Sun May 14, 2023 · 3y ago

Check out the view from connections ahead of Sunday's French 1000 and 2000 Guineas at ParisLongchamp.

2.50 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains

Brian Meehan - Isaac Shelby: “He has been working great. He’s been super spot-on since the Greenham and we’ve got to go. It is very exciting and we’re looking forward to it. I’m very happy with him.”

"I'm glad Chaldean came back fine after the Greenham and went on and won the Guineas. I thought it was a great race, but it was a shame about the (very soft) ground. But Isaac is great. His work is done – it was done before the Greenham. He took it well. You just keep them ticking over after a race like that. It’s pretty simple, he doesn’t have anything to prove.

“I know they are saying it will be heavy ground, but it doesn’t really matter what sort of ground we get – we are going to get whatever we get. There’s no point in hoping. It is what it is. The thing is, he is there on good to firm and good to soft, so we’ll take our chance.”

Isaac Shelby leads home the riderless Chaldean

Ed Crisford - Knight: “I don’t know what happened at Newbury to be honest, but the horse has bounced out of the Greenham. Whether it was the sticky ground he didn’t get through, I know he’s won on heavy but it had been raining that day it’s very different. He just didn’t go a yard and there’s nothing much to say about that other than it was very disappointing.

“The horse has bounced out of it though and is training good and we always thought he was a much better horse than that. He seems to have come alive and come on for that race, so he’s going to France and hopefully he can run a big race albeit he has to prove it now. I’m sure there is going to be lots more upside to come from him and if he gets a good trip round I’m sure he will run a good race. It’s going to be a very good race, it always is. The Greenham winner is in there and American Flag looks very good, so there’s plenty of depth.

“But I’m sure he will run a good race and I just want to see him bounce back to form. He deserves to from his two-year-old form and if you look at his record he has had two wins and one blow out and every horse is entitled to a bad day now and again.”

Ryan Moore - Hans Anderson: "He acquitted himself well enough after beating Al Riffa in his maiden at two, and you had to be delighted with his comeback win at Leopardstown, even if the runner-up came out and disappointed next time. The step up to a mile for the first time will suit this Frankel colt and he could well find the improvement needed for him to be involved the shake-up.”

Yann Barberot - American Flag: "He worked well on the grass (Tuesday). His jockey, Christophe Soumillon, liked the way that he conducted himself. The horse is in great shape. He appreciates the very soft terrain and he has a very good mentality. He knows Longchamp and I am confident for Sunday.”

3.30 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches

Christopher Head - Blue Rose Cen: “She is a really beautiful filly and we are very happy and very lucky to have her – she is a really magical filly. We are pretty happy because we are having a very rainy week. It is very good for me. She loves to get her toe in and while it may inconvenience a few, it will not inconvenience her.

“She has been professional all through her two-year-old season and she just keeps doing her thing. She doesn’t care what happens around her, she just likes to run and she is just brilliant at it.

“The first start of the season, she was brilliant in front and that wasn’t an easy one, but she did well. She has come out of the race very well and we are lucky enough to go into the race full of confidence. She has always been tough in her races.

“We have not got to her limit, we haven’t seen the max yet. Last time was her first race of the season so we were not hard on her. It wasn’t the point to push her until the limit. Now the French Guineas is pretty much an objective, so we are going to do everything we can to win this race.

“We have decided not to got to Royal Ascot. The owner and I have discussed a lot about it and we really want to focus with the French programme this year. We may look at Royal Ascot next year or the year after.”

Ryan Moore - Never Ending Story: “She won a Group Three last season and she shaped very well in both starts in Group One afterwards, running better than her final position suggested both times. And you had to be very impressed by her return at Leopardstown, when she put the subsequent Guineas third Matilda Picotte away pretty easily. This is a good race, as you’d expect, with Group One winners like Blue Rose Cen in the field, but I think she is set to run a big race. She’s in good shape.”

Philip Robinson, racing manager to Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum - Swingalong: “We don’t know about the heavy ground, but she is working well and looks good. She is in great shape. Heavy ground is an unknown. She ran well behind Remarquee and I know Bruce Raymond (who shares racing manager responsibilities) thinks she could be in the first three.

“We are very hopeful. She is a very genuine, hard filly who always gives her best. They have had a lot of rain over there. If they have it down as heavy, it will be like the Channel. But she has got to taker her chance – this has been the target for a very long time. She won the Lowther in style and she’s a lovely big filly. We hope that it is only a matter of time before she lands a big one.

“The trip is not guaranteed, but we are hopeful. She does show a lot of speed, but she never showed any indication of stopping. She was still galloping at the finish and staying on well. We lost a shoe at Newmarket, we think about the time they went by her, so we might just have a little bit more in hand – it must have affected her in some way.”

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