Gleneagles scores in Irish 2000 Guineas

Gleneagles won his second Guineas of the spring, overcoming traffic trouble to win the Irish 2000 Guineas by three-quarters of a length Saturday at The Curragh.

Heavily favored Saturday after winning the May 2 English 2000 Guineas in his first start at 3, Gleneagles found himself buried down along the rail in behind horses much of the one-mile trip as Ivawood, third in the English 2000 Guineas, set the pace.

Ryan Moore maneuvered Gleneagles into a spot with some running room in the final quarter-mile, Gleneagles quickened sufficiently to take advantage, and coming between horses in the last furlong, he pushed forward to win by less than one length over Endless Drama, Ivawood slipping back to third.

Trouble aside, Gleneagles was more workmanlike than brilliant Saturday, though he clearly is among the best milers of his generation, having finished first now in seven of eight starts (his last seven, in fact), though victory last fall in the Group 1 Jean-Luc Lagardere was taken from him via disqualification. Both Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien, who saddled the Irish 2000 winner for the tenth time, said good to yielding going probably blunted the action of Gleneagles, who evidently prefers staying on top of the ground.

A start in the Epsom Derby has not been entirely ruled out, but a more likely next stop for Gleneagles would be the St. James’s Palace Stakes, a one-turn mile race restricted to 3-year-olds at the Royal Ascot meeting next month.