Wootton Bassett Officially Out of the 2000 Guineas
- By A.J. Ryder on April 19, 2011 20:51 GMT
The clock has officially run out for popular conditioner Richard Fahey and his highly-rated Qipco 2000 Guineas contender Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj). After a brief setback at the start of the flat season, the undefeated bay colt had managed only a single racecourse gallop so far and, with unsuitable ground on most racecourses at the moment, Fahey has formally pulled the plug on any possibility of WB lining up at Newmarket on the 30th.
Wootton Bassett had been on the drift for quite some time and it was compounded yesterday when Fahey's interview with At The Races confirmed that the search was getting desperate for suitable ground to continue the prep work ahead of his seasonal debut. The three-year-old son of Iffraaj had been as low as 10/1 for Guineas glory but the rumours of complications with his prep, and the emphatic score from Frankel (Galileo) in the Greenham Stakes, saw the ante post climbing higher by the day.
High-profile withdrawals for the Qipco 2000 Guineas have not been in short supply this week with the most recent announcement coming from Godolphin as they pulled out the undefeated outsider Dubai Prince (Shamardal). The Mahmood Al Zarooni-trained colt is out with an unspecified injury and is officially off the Guineas trail.
Fahey was quick to assert that there was no threat to the long-term health of Wootton Bassett, but that it would simply not be proper to run him when he is clearly not in his best form. Speaking to the Racing Post, Fahey stated “We've just run out of time with him. The Guineas will come too soon.”
Fahey remains bullish on Wootton Bassett's ability to tackle the best three-year-olds in Europe as his short-term schedule will now be oriented around one of either the Irish or French 2000 Guineas.
Guineas top bet Frankel has been clipped down to a nearly microscopic price by virtually all bookmakers this morning with a 1/2 price tag currently being touted. Most punters seem to believe that Frankel will run at a price as low as 2/5 on the day of the Qipco 2000 Guineas.
