Category: Big Races

Which was the last horse to complete the 2,000 Guineas – Derby double?

Which was the last horse to complete the 2,000 Guineas – Derby double? The 2,000 Guineas, run over a mile at Newmarket in late April or early May, and the Derby, run over a mile and a half at Epsom in June, constitute the first two legs of what is still referred to as the ‘English Triple Crown’. However, the third and final leg, the St. Leger, run over a mile and three-quarters at Doncaster in September, has fallen out of favour in recent years. In fact, the last horse to win all three races was Nijinsky, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Lester Piggott, in 1970.

Since Nijinsky, just three horses have completed the 2,000 Guineas – Derby double. In chronological order, they were Nashwan, who also won the Coral-Eclipse and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, in 1989, Sea The Stars, who also won the Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, in 2009 and Camelot in 2012. Camelot raced just four times as a three-year-old, but also won the Irish Derby and went agonsing close to winning the Triple Crown, when failing by three-quarters of a length to overhaul Encke in the St. Leger.

Which was the last filly to run in the Derby?

Which was the last filly to run in the Derby? Theoretically, there’s nothing to stop fillies running in the Derby, but the trend among modern trainers is to run them against their own sex, in the fillies-only Oaks, rather than against the colts, from whom they receive a 3lb allowance. Interestingly, in 2021, the Derby is worth £1,125,000 in guaranteed prize money, while the Oaks is worth just £375,000, but prize money is not the only consideration.

Of course, a Derby-winning filly would be a valuable commodity as a broodmare, but not nearly as valuable as a Derby-winning colt would be as a stallion, granted that the latter could cover hundreds of mares a year, potentially at hundreds of thousands of pounds per covering. Anyway, whatever the rationale behind the dearth of fillies in the Derby in recent years, the last filly to line up for the ‘Blue Riband’ event was Cape Verdi in 1998.

Trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Frankie Dettori, the daughter of Caerleon had previously justified favouritism in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, beating subsequent Oaks winner Shahtoush by 5 lengths. Consequently, she sent off favourite for the Derby, but seemingly failed to stay a mile and a half, weakening two furlongs from home to finish ninth, 12 lengths behind the winner, High-Rise.

Who holds the course record for the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas?

The 2,000 Guineas and 1,000 Guineas, both run over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket Racecourse in late April or early May, are the first two Classics of the season. The 2,000 Guineas, which was inaugurated in 1809, is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, while the 1,000 Guineas, which was inaugurated in 1814, is restricted to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies.

Unsurprisingly, as far as the fastest winning times are concerned, there is only half a second to choose between the two races. Interestingly, though, granted that fillies are officially considered 3lb inferior to colts – at least, that is the weight-for-sex allowance they receive in the 2,000 Guineas – it is the 1,000 Guineas that has produced the fastest winning time. That time, 1 minute and 34.22 seconds, was recorded by the Giants Causeway filly Ghanaati, trained by Barry Hills and ridden by his son, Richard, who beat 13 opponents on good to firm going in 2009.

The fastest winning time in the 2,000 Guineas, 1 minute and 34.72 seconds, was also recorded on good to firm going, but much more recently; in fact, by the most recent winner, Kameko, trained by Andrew Balding and ridden by Oisin Murphy, in 2020.

Do favourites have a good record in the 2,000 Guineas?

Traditionally the first British Classic of the season, the 2,000 Guineas is a test of class and, as such, is run off level weights; three-year-old fillies receive a 3lb weight-for-sex allowance from their male counterparts, but rarely, if ever, participate. Consequently, it’s reasonable to assume that, more often than not, the ‘best’ horse or, in other words, the favourite, will win. However, the 2,000 Guineas is restricted to three-year-olds in the first place, which, coupled with its position in the calendar, means that participants are often young, unexposed types, about whom only limited information is available.

Neverthless, in recent years, the bookmakers and the racing public have made a pretty good fist of identifying the ‘best’ horse in the 2,000 Guineas. In the past decade, five favourites – namely Frankel (2011), Camelot (2012), Dawn Approach (2013), Gleneagles (2015) and Churchill (2017) – have won the 2,000 Guineas, producing a level stake profit of 4.25 points and a return of investment of 42.5%. However, this was a significant improvement on the previous decade, during which just one favourite, George Washington (2006), prevailed in the 2,000 Guineas, producing a level stakes loss of 7.50 points and a return on investment of -75%.

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