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St Nicholas Abbey tops 19-horse field in Two Thousand Guineas A stellar field of 19 is set to line up in the first classic of the season, the £400,000 Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) at Newmarket on Saturday. Aidan O'Brien is the joint most successful current trainer in the Two Thousand Guineas with five victories and has a great chance of adding a sixth success as he saddles the 6-4 favorite with sponsor Stan James, the unbeaten ST NICHOLAS ABBEY (Montjeu [Ire]). The colt will be making his seasonal debut on Saturday and was last seen when enjoying a comprehensive 3 3/4-length victory over ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL (Elusive Quality) in the Racing Post Trophy (Eng-G1) at Doncaster in October. Elusive Pimpernel franked that form in the best possible style when impressively taking the Craven S. (Eng-G3) at Newmarket on April 15 for trainer John Dunlop. O'Brien is also set to be represented by Dewhurst S. (Eng-G1) runner-up FENCING MASTER (Oratorio [Ire]) and VISCOUNT NELSON (Giant's Causeway). No French-trained horse has prevailed in the Guineas since Pennekamp in 1995, but there is a live hope from across the Channel this year in MAKFI (Dubawi), who is trained by Mikel Delzangles at Gouvieux, just to the north of Paris. Makfi is unbeaten in two starts and made a winning seasonal return in the seven-furlong Prix Djebel (Fr-G3) at Maisons-Laffitte on April 8. Stan James makes him a 40-1 chance. The horse started out in Britain and was originally trained by Marcus Tregoning but was sold for 26,000 guineas at Tattersalls last October. "Makfi is well and he will travel over to Britain on Friday morning," Delzangles reported Thursday. "He has really improved since his win in the Prix Djebel and it was a very good comeback run -- he definitely wasn't 100 percent on that occasion. "I don't think that he will have a problem with the step up to a mile as he is a very handy horse. He has only run on soft ground, so I have no concerns if there is any rain, but I can't see that he would have an issue with a faster surface either." David Elsworth has enjoyed many high-level victories over the years, both on the Flat and over jumps, and of course will be forever be remembered as the trainer of Desert Orchid. The one thing missing from his long CV is a classic winner, although he has come close to Guineas success in the past, with Norse Dancer (2003) and Stubbs Art (2008) both finishing third. This year Elsworth, who is based locally to the course at Egerton House Stables, is represented by FAIR TRADE (Trade Fair [GB]) who, having finished a promising second in a maiden on the Rowley Mile in the autumn, made a triumphant return to action in a mile maiden at Newbury on April 17. He is a 50-1 hope with Stan James. "He has been fine since his Newbury win," Elsworth said Thursday morning. "I think his credentials are similar to INLER (Red Ransom) -- our colt hasn't had the same glowing reports as him, but they both have a similar profile, having won their maidens well. "He gets the mile and goes into the race in good form. He has only run twice and has a bit to find on the ratings, although it will no doubt have to alter after he wins on Saturday!" Other trainers chasing their first taste of classic success include John Best who saddles Inler, an impressive winner on his sole start on the Rowley Mile back in October, and ELSPETH'S BOY (Tiznow), while Clive Cox runs last season's Dewhurst third XTENSION (Xaar). AUDACITY OF HOPE (Red Ransom) hails from the small Newmarket stable of Charlie McBride and finished fourth to the Barry Hills-trained RED JAZZ (Johanessburg) in the European Free H. at Newmarket on April 14. Mister Baileys (GB) took the 1994 Guineas for Mark Johnston, and this year the Yorkshire-based trainer runs the undefeated AWZAAN (Alhaarth), who already boasts Group 1-winning form on the Rowley Mile, having taken the Middle Park S. over six furlongs in October. Johnston also runs GREYFRIARSCHORISTA (King's Best). A trainer with a great Guineas record is Richard Hannon, who scored with Mon Fils (1973), Don't Forget Me (1987) and Tirol (1990). He has two representatives in 2010, CANFORD CLIFFS (Tagula), winner of the Coventry S. (Eng-G2) at Royal Ascot in 2009, and DICK TURPIN (Arakan), who got the better of his stable companion when the duo filled the first two positions in the Greenham S. (Eng-G3) at Newbury on April 17. The Maktoum family's Godolphin operation runs the Saeed bin Suroor-trained AL ZIR (Medaglia d'Oro), third to St Nicholas Abbey in the Racing Post Trophy, and Dewhurst fifth BUZZWORD (GB) (Pivotal), who will be a first British classic runner for Mahmood Al Zarooni. Pat Eddery won the Guineas three times as a jockey and saddles his first classic runner as a trainer in HEARTS OF FIRE (Firebreak), who ended last season with a Group 1 victory in the Gran Criterium at San Siro in Italy. Completing the field is the Andrew Balding-trained LORD ZENITH (Zamindar), who took the International Trial S. at Lingfield on April 10.
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