Nownownow to try 2000 Guineas

A pair of 3-year-olds with strong American connections will attempt classic glory in Europe this spring. Nownownow, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner from Fab Oak Stables, is being primed for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 3, while Destare, bred and owned by George Strawbridge, could be headed to the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, or French 1000 Guineas, at Longchamp on May 11.

Trained to his Breeders' Cup triumph by Francois Parisel after his original trainer, Patrick Biancone, was suspended, Nownownow has been in Ireland at David Wachman's County Tipperary yard since early March. Wachman, best known in the United States for the victory of Luas Line in the 2005 Garden City Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park, plans on sending Nownownow, a son of Whywhywhy, directly to the 2000 Guineas without benefit of a prep race. The Guineas would be Nownownow's first start in more than six months, but the classic mile always includes a large handful of horses making their seasonal debuts.

One of those will be the Jim Bolger-trained New Approach, the undefeated European juvenile champion who is the 9-4 favorite for the 2000 Guineas with bookmaker Stan James.

Trained in Chantilly by Jonathan Pease, Destare is a British-bred son of Desert Prince and a half-sister to the Strawbridge-owned Montare, the winner of the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak as well as three Group 2 races in France. A close third in the listed Prix Isonomy in November, Destare impressed when she won her maiden in a one-mile Saint-Cloud allowance on Tuesday, winning by three-quarters of a length on heavy ground, spotting seven rivals four to 11 pounds. That effort has prompted Pease to consider her for the French 1000 Guineas, in which she would run into the formidable Darjina, recent winner of the Group 3 Prix de la Grotte.