Gstaad has been re‑entered into the Betfred 2000 Guineas at Newmarket after a supplementary fee of £30,000 was paid to secure his participation. The colt, who earned a Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf victory for Aidan O'Brien’s Ballydoyle stable, was originally withdrawn from the Classic because of a clerical mistake, a fate that also befell Albert Einstein.
While Albert Einstein remains absent, Gstaad now joins three other Ballydoyle hopefuls who have survived the Monday confirmation stage. Those three are the dual‑Group One winner Puerto Rico, the versatile Causeway and the promising Flushing Meadows, all of whom are among the twenty colts still in contention for the race.
Other potential cross‑Channel entrants include Thesecretadversary, trained by Fozzy Stack, and Power Blue, a Charlie De Aguiar‑routed runner, both of whom could make the journey from Ireland to the Rowley Mile. The home‑trained contingent is led by Bow Echo, who will test his unbeaten record over the classic distance at Newmarket. Among the Irish‑trained prospects, George Boughey’s son of Night Of Thunder has been impressive, having won each of his three starts last season, the most recent being a triumph in the Royal Lodge Stakes on the Guineas course and distance. A second supplementary entry comes from Charlie Pike’s Padraig Dawn, who placed second in the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle in only his second career start.
Charlie Appleby may field two runners: Distant Storm, a Dewhurst‑placed colt, and the unbeaten King’s Trail. Godolphin’s representative, Roger Varian, could also be represented by Avicenna, while John and Thady Gosden’s Oxagon, who beat Avicenna into second place in the Craven Stakes, remains a strong contender.
Karl Burke’s stable could be triple‑handed with Alparslan, the Greenham winner, alongside Billecart and Hankelow. France’s sole international challenger is Samangan, trained by Francis‑Henri Graffard.
Jim Boyle’s Into The Sky, who was a length second in the Mill Reef Stakes at the end of last season, will line up for William Haggas, while Needle Match, who finished fourth behind Alparslan in the Greenham, will also try to improve his form. Rounding out the field are Andrew Balding’s Venetian Prince and Ismail Mohammed’s Lord Britain. In the 1000 Guineas, the ante‑post favourite is Precise, one of twenty‑two fillies still in the Betfred 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday. The daughter of Starspangledbanner has a stellar juvenile record, winning four of her five starts, including Group One victories in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh and the Fillies’ Mile on the Rowley Mile.
A spring setback threatened to derail her campaign, but Aidan O'Brien remained optimistic after a press conference last week, and Precise has been confirmed for the first fillies’ Classic of the year. Ballydoyle has also retained the unbeaten Diamond Necklace, who O'Brien hinted might be aimed at the French Guineas provided Precise stays fit for Newmarket. Other O’Brien‑trained fillies in the mix are True Love and Venosa.
The home‑trained side is led by Karl Burke’s Venetian Sun, who was dominant as a two‑year‑old, winning her first four starts before finishing third behind Precise in her final Irish run. Burke also has a strong second string featuring Evolutionist, the Prix de la Grotte winner. Charlie Appleby’s only hope of back‑to‑back 1000 Guineas success is Kempton winner Abashiri, who would follow in the footsteps of Desert Flower’s 2025 triumph. Godolphin could be represented by French trainer Andre Fabre’s potential challenger My Highness.
Additional fillies in the race include Fred Darling runner‑up Touleen, trained by Owen Burrows; the lightly‑raced The Prettiest Star from Ed Walker’s yard; Azleet, a surprise winner of the Nell Gwyn for Stuart Williams; and the unbeaten Darn Hot Gallop from James Tate’s stable. All of these contenders will line up at Newmarket, creating a deep and varied field for both the 2000 Guineas and the 1000 Guineas, with international, Irish and home‑trained horses offering a rich tapestry of form, talent and storylines as the classic season unfolds.