Skardu takes Craven at Newmarket, will move on to English 2000 Guineas

Skardu made his career debut last fall at Newmarket and won a maiden race. He made his second career start Wednesday at Newmarket and won again, this time capturing the Group 3 Craven Stakes. Now, his connections are left hoping Skardu does the same thing – win a race at Newmarket – on the first Saturday in May when he starts in the English 2000 Guineas.

Trainer William Haggas confirmed after the Craven that all being well Skardu would start in the Guineas, a straight-course mile just like the Craven he won by a neck over Momkin on Wednesday. In third was Set Piece, who was making his first turf start after a pair of winter all-weather wins and ran well despite lacking the late punch to stick with the top two. He’s also likely to run back in the Guineas, trainer Hugo Palmer said, as is fourth-place Royal Marine, the Godolphin Group 1-winning colt trained by Saeed bin Suroor who had a traffic-filled passage Wednesday before finishing well enough.

Royal Marine wound up favored in the Craven while Godolphin’s other runner, Zakouski, had been well-backed in antepost wagering and wound up second choice in the race. Zakouski might have raced a little freely while making just his second start but regardless had no punch at all for the finish and checked in fifth.
The modest performances from the two Godolphin runners in the Craven might open the door for Persian Night, a Godolphin color-bearer trained in France by Andre Fabre, to start in the 2000 Guineas. Persian Knight sharply won the Prix de Fontainebleau on Sunday at Longchamp, Fabre saying afterward his participation at Newmarket on May 4 was dependent on the Craven results and course conditions.

Skardu, piloted by James Doyle, raced the way he did in his debut, waiting at the rear before tearing home as he came out of the famed dip that leads to the final stages of straight-course races at Newmarket. Skardu, by Shamardal out of Diala, by Ifraaj, does not overwhelm his connections with his work at home, but he has so far done nothing wrong in his racing. And with Too Darn Hot, Europe’s best 2-year-old of 2018 and the longtime Guineas favorite, now in serious jeopardy of missing the race due to a physical setback, maybe Skardu has a decent chance of making it three starts, three wins at Newmarket.