Democratic Deficit wins Guineas prep

Democratic Deficit, who came from Ireland, posted a 12-1 upset in the Group 3 Craven Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday. Democratic Deficit avoided a traffic jam in the final stages to defeat the highly regarded and still-improving Rob Roy by a head, with Kandidate a short head farther back in third. Iceman, who like Rob Roy had little room through the last furlong, was fourth, a head behind Kandidate.

Montgomery's Arch and Etlaala, colts who had won Group 2 races last year, never got involved in the Craven, traditionally the most informative 2000 Guineas prep. Montgomery's Arch came home seventh and Etlaala, the 2-1 favorite, eighth and last.

Democratic Deficit, trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning, covered the straight mile on good to firm ground in 1:39.43. Both he and the Michael Stoute-trained Rob Roy will head for the 2000 Guineas on April 30, as will Kandidate and Iceman.

The Godolphin-owned Dubawi remains the 3-2 favorite for the 2000 Guineas, with Rob Roy the second choice at 6-1.

Additional clues for the 2000 Guineas will be revealed at Newbury on Saturday in the Group 3 Greenham Stakes. The straight seven-furlong contest is headed by Galeota. Trained by Richard Hannon, Galeota was impressive winning the six-furlong Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury last fall but is a question mark beyond three-quarters of a mile.

Andronikos finished seventh behind Galeota in the Mill Reef and subsequently won a pair of listed races going six furlongs. But he, like Tremar, winner of the six-furlong Group 3 Prix Eclipse at Chantilly in September, may also have stamina limitations.

There is an upset possibility in the Michael Channon-trained Turnkey. A son of Pivotal, he was competitive at the group race level last year and prepped nicely for this with a solid allowance score at Leicester April 7.