Henry Longfellow strides clear at the Curragh

Henry Longfellow on target for Royal Ascot

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Mon May 13, 2024 · 2y ago

Henry Longfellow is being aimed at Royal Ascot after losing his unbeaten record in Sunday's French 2000 Guineas.

The son of Dubawi was sent off a warm favourite at ParisLongchamp but struggled to make an impact in the race, finishing eighth having raced off the pace.

“That was a tactical error on my behalf. I said to Ryan (Moore) to take his time on him because it was his first run and he hadn’t been away and he’d never been on that type of track," trainer Aidan O'Brien said.

“Ryan took his time but then found himself in a way that he couldn’t get out and to get out he had to keep coming back to get out but as he kept coming back they kept going by him and by him and by him and the next thing he ended up too far back off a slowly run race.

“He’s come in like he didn’t have any kind of race... he was very happy in himself so we just put that down to a lovely experience, he went right-handed and I’d say he felt it was only a piece of work.

“The plan with him was, if everything went well, was to go to the St James’s Palace so we’re going to stick to that plan. I’ll probably have more confidence in him the next day to tell Ryan to go forward with him in the St James's Palace.”

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