Gstaad has been re‑entered into the Betfred 2000 Guineas at Newmarket after a supplementary fee of £30,000 was paid. The colt, a product of Aidan O'Brien’s stable and a former Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf victor, was originally withdrawn from the Classic because of an administrative oversight, a mistake that also affected Albert Einstein.
While Albert Einstein will continue to miss the race, Gstaad now joins three other Ballydoyle representatives at the Monday confirmation stage. The other three are the dual Group One winner Puerto Rico, the versatile Causeway, and the promising Flushing Meadows, all of whom are still among the twenty colts that remain in contention.
In addition to the Irish entries, a handful of British‑trained horses could make the journey across the Irish Sea. Fozzy Stack’s ThisSecretAdversary and Robson De Aguiar’s Power Blue are both being considered for the trip, while the home‑grown contingent is led by Bow Echo, who will test his unbeaten record over the Rowley Mile.
George Boughey’s son of Night Of Thunder is another strong candidate. He won each of his three starts last season, capping the campaign with a victory in the Royal Lodge Stakes on the very same course and distance that will be used for the Guineas. A second supplementary entry has been lodged for Charlie Pike’s Padraig Dawn, who finished a close second in the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle in only his second career start. Charlie Appleby may have two runners in the field: the Dewhurst‑placed Distant Storm and the unbeaten King’s Trail.
Roger Varian’s Avicenna is also a possible Godolphin representative, while John and Thady Gosden’s Oxagon, who beat Avicenna into second place in the Craven Stakes, remains in the mix. Karl Burke could field three horses – Greenham winner Alparslan, Billecart, and Hankelow – and Francis‑Henri Graffard’s Samangan stands as the sole continental challenger.
Jim Boyle’s Into The Sky, who was a length runner‑up in the Mill Reef at the end of last season, will be backed by Needle Match, while William Haggas hopes to reverse the form of Alparslan with his own entry. Completing the lineup are Andrew Balding’s Venetian Prince and Ismail Mohammed’s Lord Britain. On the fillies’ side, the ante‑post favourite Precise is one of twenty‑two mares still slated for the Betfred 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday.
The daughter of Starspangledbanner won four of her five juvenile starts, including Group One triumphs in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh and the Fillies' Mile on the Rowley Mile. A spring‑time setback threatened to derail her campaign, but trainer Aidan O'Brien remained optimistic after a recent press briefing and confirmed that Precise will contest the first fillies’ Classic of the year at Monday’s confirmation stage.
O'Brien has also left the unbeaten Diamond Necklace in the race, hinting that the colt could be redirected to the French Guineas provided Precise wins her race and remains fit for Newmarket. Other Ballydoyle hopefuls include True Love and Venosa. Representing the home trainers, Karl Burke’s Venetian Sun leads his stable.
The filly was dominant in her first four starts as a two‑year‑old before finishing third behind Precise in her most recent Irish outing. Burke also has a second string featuring Evolutionist, the recent Prix de la Grotte winner.
Charlie Appleby’s only chance of repeating a back‑to‑back 1000 Guineas victory comes via Kempton winner Abashiri, who would follow in the footsteps of Desert Flower’s triumph a year earlier. The Godolphin colours could also be carried by Andre Fabre’s potential French entrant My Highness.
Additional fillies in the race include Owen Burrows‑trained Fred Darling runner‑up Touleen, Ed Walker’s lightly‑raced The Prettiest Star, Stuart Williams’ surprise Nell Gwyn winner Azleet, and the unbeaten Darn Hot Gallop from James Tate’s yard. Overall, the field for both the 2000 Guineas and the 1000 Guineas is shaping up to be a blend of proven Group‑level performers, promising juveniles stepping up in distance, and a few international challengers seeking to test themselves on the Rowley Mile. Trainers are fine‑tuning their entries as the confirmation deadline approaches, and racing fans can expect a highly competitive line‑up when the Classics commence at Newmarket.