Stan James 2000 Guineas Betting Tips

Peter Chapple-Hyam, who tasted victory in the 2000 Guineas for the only time with the brilliant Rodrigo de Triano in 1992, can roll back the years with Dutch Art in this year's renewal of the colts' Classic at Newmarket on May 5, thwarting the challenge of the Irish-raider and red-hot favourite Teofilo.Life has thrown plenty of curve balls at Chapple-Hyam since Rodrigo's famous victory under Lester Piggott. But something which has never changed is his aptitude for training horses, and there are similarities between Rodrigo and Dutch Art. Indeed, as in the case of the 1992 hero, Dutch Art's stamina is unproven, and there are many that feel that eight furlongs on the Rowley Mile will prove too stiff a test for the son of Medicean.This conjecture is not unfounded since Rodrigo is the only horse in recent times to win the six-furlong Middle Park Stakes as a juvenile before going on to land the Guineas the following season. That Group 1 event, which Dutch Art won so emphatically last year, does invariably produce sprinters as opposed to milers. But this trend will be bucked and Dutch Art, a 5/1 chance with VCbet, can do just that.The selection, who may have a prep race in the Greenham at Newbury on April 21, looked every bit a sprinter when scoring over the minimum trip on fast ground in his first two outings at two. However, he adapted to the contrast of six furlongs under testing conditions with aplomb when completing back-to-back Group 1 victories in the Prix Morny at Deauville in France and then in the aforementioned Middle Park at HQ.The fact that he was not stopping at the end of either of those two top-level races bodes well for his ability to see out a mile, as the contests in question where both run at a sound clip, as well as their being an obvious added emphasis on stamina owing to the underfoot conditions encountered. The ground has been on the quick side for the Guineas meeting for the past two years and is looks as though it will be once again this year.As such, Dutch Art's proven, natural speed will be more of an asset than a hindrance. He's not a speedball, in as much that he isn't a free-running sort who goes off like the clappers once the gates open. On the contrary, he's a relaxed individual who travels smoothly in his races and is able to quicken instantaneously. He is also extremely versatile, as he proved last term, winning from the front and from off the pace.Furthermore, although there is an undeniable speed influence imprinted within his bloodline, as a son of Medicean, who was Group 1 winner at up to 10 furlongs, and out of a Spectrum mare - the latter won the Irish 2000 Guineas for Chapple-Hyam in 1995 - there are good grounds on which to anticipate Dutch Art staying a mile. I doubt very much that he'll get further like his sire, but he should get a mile.Chapple-Hyam has gone on record recently as stating that the only thing that can beat Dutch Art on May 5 is indeed the trip. But the trainer, who was at the centre of a golden era for Manton during the early 90s when training for his former father-in-law Robert Sangster, is extremely confident that it will not be an issue. He said: "I have no doubts about the trip and, if he gets it, he wins. If he doesn't, he doesn't."That will do for me.Teofilo is being mooted as potentially the first colt to win the Triple Crown since Nijinsky; VCbet and William Hill make him 8/1 an chance to complete this elusive hat-trick. He is generally an 11/8 chance for the 2000 Guineas, but as short as 5/4 in places. Jim Bolger's charge proved himself to be a top-class performer beyond reasonable doubt last term, but does he deserve to be such a short price? Certainly not.Admittedly, at this stage there aren't too many colts that you could fancy to beat Teofilo, but in Dutch Art he will be facing a rival with a superior turn-of-foot and, given that there will be an emphasis on speed on Guineas day owing to the likelihood of a fast surface, I reckon that the son of Derby hero Galileo could prove vulnerable. His best performances did, after all, come when there was juice in the ground last season.Like Dutch Art, Teofilo is unbeaten. He won the Dewhurst Stakes over seven furlongs, the trip over which all five of his victories have been gained, on the Rowley Mile in October, getting the better of the subsequently retired Holy Roman Emperor in a thrilling finish. That performance saw his odds for all the Classics collapse significantly, and it cannot be denied that it was a superb display of sheer tenacity.But, as I alluded to earlier, Teofilo has looked far happier when there is some give underfoot. Such is his class, he did mange to win twice on good to firm going last year, but on neither occasion did he impress in the way that he has done under easier conditions, including when readily accounting for five rivals in the Group 1 National Stakes on his penultimate start at The Curragh in September.In addition to Dutch Art, Peter Chapple-Hyam has another credible contender in the shape of Racing Post Trophy winner Authorized. However, his pedigree is stamina-rich and he appeared to relish the testing conditions at Newbury when carrying off that prestigious prize, so I have major reservations as to whether he possesses the requisite speed to live with his stablemate over a mile on fast ground.Aidan O'Brien, who has sent out the winner of this four times in the past decade, doesn't appear to have a particularly strong team of three-year-old colts to go to war with, and his main hope for this may turn out to be Mount Nelson. The son of Rock Of Gibraltar, the brilliant Guineas winner of 2002, was a game winner of a Group 1 over a mile on good to soft at Saint-Cloud at the end of his juvenile campaign.Far from exposed, Mount Nelson is likely to make up into a classy performer this term and, therefore, merits respect. However, he will need to have improved an awful lot over the winter to develop into a Guineas winner. The same can be said of the Kevin Prendergast-trained Haatef, who looked a shade unlucky when a staying-on fourth in the Dewhurst, but the first two were nicely clear and he'll do well to bridge the gap.Quick conditions will help see Strategic Prince, who was beaten under three lengths into third behind Teofilo in the Dewhurst, in a better light. But he doesn't possess the scope of some of these as he looked pretty furnished as far as two-year-olds go last term, suggesting to me that he probably won't have improved much during the winter. Conversely, Sir Michael Stoute's main hope, Adagio, who was seventh in the Dewhurst, should have strengthened up from two to three and he looks poised to take high rank in the colts' division for the season ahead. There is a buzz about French raider US Ranger, winner of a Listed event at Maisons-Laffitte ON his sole start. He could be, as they say in racing, anything. But whether he deserves to be as short as 10/1 at this stage is debatable.