NEWMARKET, ENGLAND // The English 1,000 Guineas has always been about young fillies realising their potential after a long winter, but that could be equally applied on Sunday to Owen Burrows, James Tate and Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah.
Burrows is in his second season training in Lambourn for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid and saddles the talented, but as of yet unproven, Talaayeb for the Minister of Finance. Tate inherited most of Saeed Manana’s string from the retiring veteran Clive Brittain last year and runs Urban Fox, while Sunday afternoon could be the making of Al Naboodah as an owner when Daban carries his red and white silks in the first European Classic for fillies.
These are exciting times for Al Naboodah, who also has Guineas trial winner Dabyah entered in next week’s Abu Dhabi French 1,000 Guineas. This is the third season he has owned horses, and with Group winners such as Nathra and Ardad last year, he is putting together a fine stable.
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Tate, 37, has taken longer to bloom after five full seasons at the helm of his Newmarket base without a major success. His horses have been running so well these past few weeks though that it is impossible to rule out anything. He is one of only two trainers to have runners in both Guineas, after his Law and Order competed in Saturday’s colt’s Classic.
“My reaction to being alongside Aidan O’Brien as the only trainer with a runner in both Guineas is partly one of pride and partly to ask myself ‘am I crazy?’,” Tate said.
Of the triumvirate, however, it is Burrows who has had the most success. Twelve months ago he trained Massaat to finish second in the 2,000 Guineas and he followed that up in mid summer with a first Group 3 victory courtesy of the sprinter Markaz.
He trained 16 winners last season and has been rewarded by his racing-mad patron with almost twice as many horses at Kingwood House.
“I have got 83 horses on the books but have around 70 in training at the moment,” Burrows said. “I have 30 older horses and around 40 two-year-olds. We only had 40 horses last year, and it was half and half older to younger horses. I am very fortunate the boss has given me plenty of ammunition to go to war with. I never dreamt I would have 70 horses in my second season.”
Burrows is as straight as they come, and it is his no-nonsense approach that has clearly impressed.
“It was entirely Sheikh Hamdan’s decision, and he is thoroughly enjoying having horses there,” Angus Gold, his racing manager, said.
Talaayeb has been prepared for the 1000 Guineas in a manner that is fairly irregular.
Pitching up at Newmarket without a previous run is rare, but the last 10 winners of the fillies’ Classic had all run at least twice as a juvenile.
It highlights the copper-bottomed faith that Burrows has in his filly, and therefore the understanding and patience of her high-profile owner. No pressure on Burrows, then.
It has been done before though. Michael Stoute, who Burrows was assistant to for 12 years, pitched up at the Rowley Mile in 2001 with the once-raced Golan. The colt had won a maiden but he shrugged off his inexperience, and missing the break, to win with a fair degree of authority.
Sheikh Hamdan’s Ghanaati had only two runs as a juvenile under her girth. She then underwent a racecourse gallop at Newmarket a few weeks before she won the 2009 Guineas for Barry Hills, too.
“My gut feeling is that she is a very good filly,” Gold said. “We have to be realistic, because horses who race once do not often win a Guineas, but she is not the sort of horse who gets spooked and fails to run her race. She has a turn of foot, and the way she won her maiden really surprised me. I had always imagined she would be a ten-furlong (2000 metres) filly.”
Daban, Urban Fox and Talaayeb are not the only fillies in the race with UAE connections. Kilmah carries the colours of Abdullah Al Mansoori, Queen Kindly will sport the silks of Jaber Abdullah and Unforgettable Filly will represent Dr Ali Ridha.
They all have Aidan O’Brien’s Rhododendron to beat, however. The Irish raider was the outstanding juvenile filly of last season, who stepped up to 1,600 metres in October to beat hollow stable companion and today’s rival Hydrangea, with Urban Fox third, in the Fillies’ Mile.
O’Brien believes she could be much better this year.
“She’s in good form, she’s a clear-winded, good-minded filly and we think she’s straightforward enough to ride,” he said. “We’ve been happy with her since last year and physically she’s done very well.”
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