Horse racing news: Gstaad the lowest top-rated horse in 2000 Guineas in over 30 years
This year’s renewal of the 2000 Guineas looks substandard according to Timeform, with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Gstaad topping the ratings on 117, which is the lowest pre-race rating for a Timeform top-rated horse in the 2000 Guineas in over 30 years.
The unbeaten Bow Echo (116p) was an up-to-scratch winner of the Royal Lodge at Newmarket on his final start, impressing with how fluently he made the transition into pattern company, and he’s a well-made colt who has the potential to improve further this season.
Distant Storm (113p) has over a length to find with Gstaad on their running in the Dewhurst, but he had previously looked a colt right out of the top drawer when recording a smart timefigure in the Tattersalls Stakes, and it is possibly better to judge him on the style and substance of that form.
Charlie Appelby, trainer of Distant Storm, has won three of the last four renewals of the 2000 Guineas, and has another string to his bow with King’s Trail (105P). He has a similar profile to Notable Speech, given he’s yet to race on turf, and was also an impressive winner of the same conditions event at Kempton that his stablemate won on his way to 2000 Guineas success in 2024. King’s Trail has a fair bit more to find on form, but the Large P attached to his rating denotes he’s open to significant improvement after just two starts.
Timeform’s Senior Horse Racing Analyst Kieran Clark said: “What looks no more than an average running of the 2000 Guineas is firmly backed up by the Timeform ratings.
“Of the previous winners in the past decade, only Galileo Gold (112), Coroebus (116p) and Ruling Court (114p) have been rated lower pre-race than Gstaad who tops the list this year on 117. On average in that timeframe, it usually takes something around 125 to win the first Classic of the season, therefore significant improvement is needed from virtually the whole field for it to be called a standard renewal, with the following day's 1000 Guineas looking the polar opposite and possibly the strongest running for a while.”
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