O'Brien armed to the teeth for another assault on 1000 Guineas

Five times in the last six years trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the 1000 Guineas in England, and on Sunday at Newmarket a filly named Tuesday could make it six for seven.

O’Brien has two for the 1000 Guineas, a straight-course mile, and his other runner, Tenebrism, held fixed-odds market favoritism with British bookmakers as of Friday. Tenebrism makes her first start as a 3-year-old after ending her 2-year-old campaign winning the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes over a straight six furlongs at Newmarket.

The 14-filly Guineas field includes four horses who raced in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar – Hello You, Cachet, Mise En Scene, and Malavath. Malavath easily ran best of the quartet in California, setting the pace and holding second behind Pizza Bianca, and she’s one of the shorter prices in the Guineas after taking the measure of Zellie, another Guineas entrant, on April 7 at Deauville in the Prix Imprudence. That race was contested over heavy ground that should have favored Zellie, a Group 1 winner at 2 when she was among the best juvenile fillies in France.

The Newmarket course as of Friday was called good, and that should be just fine for O’Brien’s pair. Tenebrism inherited the role of Guineas favorite when Inspiral, the market leader all winter, was removed from race consideration earlier this week. Ryan Moore, broadly the top rider for O’Brien, rides her Sunday. That might not mean much. Moore did pilot two of O’Brien’s five recent Guineas winners to victory, but Wayne Lordan also rode two and last year, on Mother Earth, Frankie Dettori got the call.

It’s Dettori riding Tuesday on Sunday, and he appears to have a very live mount. Discoveries, a general 5-1 shot for the Guineas, faced off against Tuesday on June 25 at The Curragh, and while she eked out a nose win going seven furlongs, Tuesday was getting to Discoveries at the finish. Discoveries went on to win the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, while Tuesday didn’t start again until March 26, where she was an eye-catching winner over 16 rivals in a one-mile maiden contest. Tuesday is by Galileo out of Lillie Langtry, who produced Minding, winner of the 2016 Guineas, and Empress Josephine, who won the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2021.

France: Prix Ganay

Seven-year-old Skalleti looked about as good as he ever has winning the Prix d’Harcourt on April 10 at Longchamp but might be vulnerable over firmer footing Sunday at Longchamp in the Group 1 Prix Ganay.

Group 1-winning Skalleti overcame a very difficult trip to win the Harcourt, his 18th victory from 25 starts. That race was contested over very soft going, the sort of course Skalleti enjoys, but the Longchamp turf as of Friday was good-to-soft with no rain forecast before the Ganay.

The 1 5/16-mile race drew but six entrants, including Mare Australis and State of Rest. Mare Australis won the 2021 Ganay, while State of Rest captured the Group 1 Cox Plate in Australia after winning the Saratoga Derby Invitational in August.

◗ Living Legend upset Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Yibir on Friday at Newmarket in the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes. Yibir, however, was tuning up or the Man o’ War Stakes next month at Belmont and has done all his best racing over flat, left-handed, American-style courses.