Hills eyeing Irish Guineas for Newmarket fourth Galeron
Fourth in the Guineas, first in the Derby is the well-worn adage.
But while the Qipco 2000 Guineas has often been among the best trials for the Epsom Classic, Galeron, this year’s Newmarket fourth, is not likely to make the line-up, according to trainer Charlie Hills.
Having won the Goffs Million at the Curragh on his final start last season, Galeron finished a close-up third to Dear My Friend in a Newcastle all-weather Listed contest last month on his seasonal debut.
Despite that, the son of Camacho was sent off at 150-1 for Guineas glory.
Galeron holds off to win the Goffs Million 🐎👏@cbhills #ITVRacing | @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/J59m4CYEYn
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) September 24, 2022
Yet Hills had argued the bookmakers had overlooked him and his pre-race confidence proved spot-on as Galeron stayed on nicely in soft ground under Kieran Shoemark to finish five lengths behind Chaldean.
However, he would need to be supplemented for Epsom, so any thoughts of lining up in the mile-and-a-half colts’ Classic have been shelved for the time being.
Hills said: “It was a fabulous result. He did really well and I’m delighted with him, really.
“He just got a little bit further back than what we’d hoped – he got squashed coming out of the stalls. It was a bit rough at the start, but he came through them really well.
“Kieran said he didn’t really seem to be handling the ground too well, so you have to mark him up a bit on that.
“I don’t think he will get a Derby trip, but we certainly have to have a look at the Irish Guineas and keep a close eye on that. We’ll see how he is at the end of the week and then make a plan.
“He seems to have come out of the race really well.”
It was a great weekend for the Lambourn yard, with Mutasaabeq landing the Group Two bet365 Mile and Saxon King taking a decent handicap over the same Newmarket Rowley Mile.
And at Goodwood on Friday, Cicero’s Gift underlined his potential as a smart prospect when powering home to take another eight-furlong contest, a three-year-old conditions race, maintaining his unbeaten record.
The Muhaarar colt had previously won a novice on debut at Newbury in October and followed up on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in March.
He stormed to a five-and-a-half-length success, trouncing five previous winners and although he holds a Dante entry, Cicero’s Gift is more likely to head straight to Royal Ascot.
Hills said: “It was exciting. I was really pleased with the way he lengthened away there.
“He is in the Dante, although my gut feeling is that he will go straight to the St James’s Palace Stakes. The gut feeling is to wait, but we have to see how he is. I think Ascot will really suit him.
“He is owned by Rosehill Racing, a syndicate that we set up. We have five horses who were bought relatively cheaply, about the 30-grand mark, and he looks an exciting horse for the future.”
