Saxon Warrior starts season in big way with English 2000 Guineas win

Saxon Warrior probably wants to run farther than a mile, but a mile was just fine Saturday at Newmarket, where Saxon Warrior powered home 1 1/2 lengths best in the Group 1 English 2000 Guineas.

Nineteen-year-old Donnacha O’Brien rode his first classic winner and became the second son of trainer Aidan O’Brien to win the Guineas, following his older brother, Joseph. Aidan O’Brien watched his ninth Guineas win unfold from Kentucky, where he traveled Thursday to oversee Mendelssohn’s final preparations for another classic race Saturday, the Kentucky Derby.

Saxon Warrior was the winter favorite for the Guineas after winning all three of his starts at 2, including the Group 2 Beresford Stakes and the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy, but Saxon Warrior was making his first start of the year Saturday, and in recent weeks the focus for many had shifted to the O’Brien-trained Gustav Klimt.

The punters had it right the first time.

The Guineas field first broke into two packs in the straight-course mile, but less than halfway in, Cardsharp was left by himself, the other 13 rolling down the wide swath of turf in a scattered pack. O’Brien had a pacemaker in the race, Murillo, who ran along on the front as Saxon Warrior raced in the middle of the group, 10 or so lengths behind the leaders.

Donnacha O’Brien began bringing his mount to life about 500 yards out, steered right to find room just before the 400, and even then had nearly reached the front. Saxon Warrior is a large, powerful animal, but he stayed on perfect balance going downhill into The Dip about a furlong from home and had more than enough strength to blast through the uphill finish for a decisive victory.

Tip To Win, a 50-1 chance, rallied from well back to finish second, a head in front of the well-backed Masar, who stalked the pace and had every chance but couldn’t match Saxon Warrior’s finishing run. Elarqam, 2 for 2 as a 2-year-old and a 5-1 chance in his first start at 3, was a solid fourth, followed by Roaring Lion, who loomed a furlong out but couldn’t sustain his bid, and Gustav Klimt, who couldn’t replicate his recent performance on heavy ground over the good going Saturday.

Saxon Warrior, for what it’s worth, ran his mile in 1:36.55 while running his record to four wins from four starts. He is a heavy early favorite to add a second classic, the Epsom Derby, to his résumé, as Saxon Warrior seems likely to stay that race’s 1 1/2-mile trip.

The Guineas winner is the grandson of the excellent Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence, whose son, Deep Impact, sired Saxon Warrior. Bred in Japan, Saxon Warrior is out of the Galileo mare Maybe, whom O’Brien also campaigned.