Peter Snowden’s dual Group 1 winning filly Guelph is ready to kick off her Thousand Guineas 2013 campaign following an impressive trial win at Sydney’s Rosehill Racecourse on Tuesday morning.
Guelph will contest Sydney's Princess Series of races before heading to Melbourne for the Thousand Guineas 2013. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.
The outstanding daughter Exceed and Excel enjoyed a stunning juvenile season winning four of her seven starts including back-to-back Group 1’s in April.
After a fourth to the Gai Waterhouse-trained Overreach in the $3.5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) she went to Randwick and won the Group 1 ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) relishing the step up in distance when overcoming barrier 13 of 13.
Guelph became a two time elite level champion two weeks later in her most recent run going up to the mile for a narrow victory over Fuerza in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) on Sydney Cup Day.
She’s now gearing up for her three-year-old season where she’ll initially be aimed at the $500,000 Group 1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on Wednesday October 16.
Snowden has also nominated the $919,000 earner for a shot at the country’s premier weight-for-age showdown, the $3 million Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 26.
Currently Guelph is rated a $34 chance in the Cox Plate odds, while in Thousand Guineas betting she’s the dominant $5 favourite.
That price for the fillies-only feature certainly looked justified early this morning when Kerrin McEvoy rode her to a tight 900m trial win over the Gerald Ryan-trained Charlie Boy in a time of 54.30 seconds.
It was a smashing effort too as the filly came from last-to-first thanks to a blistering late burst that bodes well heading toward the longer distance features of the carnival.
She’ll begin her season in Sydney racing in the Princess Series of races at Royal Randwick starting with the $175,000 Group 2 Furious Stakes (1200m) on September 7.
The series then continues with the $175,000 Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) on September 21 before the $400,000 Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) brings things to a close on October 5.
“She runs through the Princess Series first and then she’ll come straight down for the Guineas,” Paul Snowden, son of Peter and the stable’s Melbourne foreman, told Racing Victoria this week.
“She’s been around down here, so there’s no real pressure to bring her down early.”
To back Guelph in the futures markets for her Group 1 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival assignments check out bookmaker.com.au who are offering all the best ante-post odds.
