Australia, War Command on target for Guineas

War Command has the resume, while stablemate Australia has the hype (Frank Sorge/Horsephotos.com) Aidan O’Brien has indicated that both Australia and War Command will take their chances in the Group 1 Two Thousand Guineas at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile on Saturday. “We are happy with both Australia and War Command and it looks like both will run on Saturday,” said O’Brien, the 17-time Irish champion trainer who has already won this one-mile classic on six occasions. Australia has won two of his three career starts but has not had a race since storming home six lengths clear in a Group 3 contest at Leopardstown early last September. However, as the son of one of the world’s top stallions, Galileo, and the six-time Group 1 winning mare, Ouija Board, he is bred in the purple and the Guineas has long been his stated target. War Command first hit the headlines with a runaway success in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and his latest outing was a decisive victory at the Rowley Mile last October in the Dewhurst Stakes — a race that has been won by the subsequent Two Thousand Guineas winner twice in the last three years.

O’Brien also has Giovanni Boldini and Oklahoma City among the 17 horses still
engaged in the Guineas following Monday’s penultimate entry stage but
was non-committal about their joining Australia and War Command in the final
line-up.

The 206th Guineas looks like being a vintage renewal with its
British-trained contenders headed by Kingman, who took his unbeaten record to
three career starts with an impressive victory in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury
on April 12.

Kingman’s potential home-trained rivals include the champion two-year-old, Toormore,
winner of theCraven Stakes on the Rowley Mile 12
days ago, and last year’s Racing Post Trophy hero, Kingston Hill.

And the likely presence in the field of both the first Spanish-trained runner in
a British classic, Noozhoh Canarias, and the French pair, Charm Spirit and Bookrunner,
gives the contest an added international dimension.

O’Brien had further positive news concerning Sunday’s Group 1 One Thousand
Guineas, for which all the leading contenders were among the 26 fillies
remaining following Monday’s penultimate entry stage.

“At the moment we plan to
run both Tapestry and Bracelet in the One Thousand Guineas,” he said.

Tapestry suffered the only reverse of her career when finishing third
(subsequently promoted to second by the stewards) behind the current One
Thousand Guineas favorite, Rizeena, in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh
last September, while Bracelet moved into the classic picture four weeks ago
with a convincing triumph in the Leopardstown One Thousand Guineas Trial.

O’Brien’s duo could be joined by fellow Irish challengers My Titania and Balansiya.
Newmarket-trained fillies dominate the home defense with Rizeena, Ihtimal, Lucky
Kristale and Amazing Maria all intended participants, while Miss France and
Vorda, both winners on the Rowley Mile last year, could make the journey from
France.

Euro Charline, a hard luck second in the Nell Gwyn on
April 16, has been supplemented to the One Thousand Guineas at a cost of
£30,000. Euro Charline, a three length maiden winner at
first asking at Wolverhampton last November, was purchased privately by Team
Valor after adding a handicap victory over that all-weather surface March 8. Kept
with trainer Marco Botti, Euro Charline finished second to Sandiva in her turf
debut in the Nell Gwyn.

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