John Gosden believes that victory in the Betfred 2000 Guineas for Field Of Gold at Newmarket on Saturday would “close the circle” for the near miss he suffered in the race with his sire Kingman 11 years ago.
The Newmarket handler will look to end his long wait for a first victory in the opening Classic with the Juddmonte-owned colt, who is the general 7/4 favourite to strike gold in the mile Group One.
Field Of Gold thrust to the head of the betting for the Guineas with victory in the Group Three Craven Stakes over course and distance last month, a performance not too dissimilar to his sire’s in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury in 2014 ahead of his Classic bid.
While Kingman had to settle for second best in the 2000 Guineas, in what was to be the sole defeat of his career, Gosden, who trains Field Of Gold in partnership with his son Thady, believes he can go one better and secure him a breakthrough success in the race.
Gosden said: “I think it was probably his father (who was the last leading 2000 Guineas contender I had). I’m enjoying it and it is great. It is nice to have a horse of his quality. He has developed well from two to three.
“It seems to be glaring to everyone else (that I am yet to win the 2000 Guineas), but not to me. It is nice to have a horse in the race that is favourite, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to win it.
“We have, down the years, in truth tended to target the St James’s Palace Stakes more. I often want to bring them to the peak then as that is when your English, French and Irish 2000 Guineas winners meet, and I’ve had quite a lot of luck in that race.
“That is partly the way I train and plan them, and partly it is down to not necessarily having a horse at the time.
“I think in my first or second year here Anshan finished third in the 2000 Guineas (1990) so if we have the right horse we will always go for it.
“Kingman had won the Greenham in good style and he got well ahead here then suddenly he pricked his ears and thought he had done enough and a good horse came and caught him late, who turned out to be a top stallion so it was an illustrious Guineas in that sense.
“It is Juddmonte farm again so it is the same owner and same breeder (as Kingman) so to that extent it would be like trying to close the circle for sure.”
WATCH: Field Of Gold slams Craven rivals
Although Field Of Gold, who claimed Group Three glory in the Solario Stakes at Sandown last year before getting stuck in the mud in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp, was impressive on his return, Gosden expects him to take another step forward for that effort.
However, he feels that will need to be on his A-game if he is to defeat those horses that have yet to show their hand this year, along with Jumeirah 2000 Guineas winner Ruling Court.
Gosden said: “He had been training nicely this year. I expected him to run a good race, but I didn’t necessarily expect him to win like that. I think you have to look at the fact that they over-raced a little bit as they were fresh horses in front and therefore they went very hard.
“He was probably in the perfect position to come from out of the back and go past them. Having said that, the race was set up very nicely and he finished very strongly. He has been training nicely this year.
“They will go at a good mile pace for Group One and they are not going to trot and have a look at each other. There should be a reasonable pace and we will ride it as we find it.
“I think he was 85 per cent fit (for the Craven). There is no doubt that the first race just tightened and sharpened him up.
“There are a lot of horses coming into the race that have probably had away days at the Curragh, or somewhere else, that haven’t run this year. They are the ones I will always have a lot of respect for as you never know how much they have improved.
“If they have got good form at two and have improved over the winter then they can be the surprise package. It is not like everyone has been in a trial and shown their hand, they haven’t, so I will be very interested in how those horses look in the paddock, and they will very much be the main dangers to him.
“We also have the horse [Ruling Court] that has raced in Dubai this year. He is a very talented horse and he won the 2000 Guineas down there so he is a fully tuned animal.”
And while victory for Gosden would see him complete a clean sweep of British Classics, it is one that would be made much sweeter with it coming in partnership with his son and rewarding the faith shown in jockey Kieran Shoemark.
He added: “You are only as good as the horses you are training, or riding. Horses are like Formula One cars. You have only got to watch them guys in that business. If they can’t set their car up right then suddenly someone who was dominant isn’t so dominant anymore.
“If you have the horses, and they are happy, healthy and well, then it all falls into place. It is as simple as that. If you don’t have the quality of horses, and they aren’t necessarily right in themselves you face it the other way, that is the nature of horse racing.
“It is great to work with Thady. One of his first things he went off to (in the new training partnership) was the Middle East and he won the Saudi Cup, the Sheema Classic and Dubai Turf, so that was a pretty good start to the whole thing. Thady has been with me for a very long time, ever since he finished university. It is great working together and we have a hell of a good team at Clarehaven.”
For now the focus for Field Of Gold is on the 2000 Guineas, but Gosden expects his rising star to get further than a mile after mentioning the Coral Eclipse at Sandown on July 5 as a potential mid-season aim against his elders.
He added: “He has got a lot of scope about him and he is probably a horse that will be able to go further in time. I think he is a horse that will probably be comfortable in a race like the Eclipse. I think a mile and a quarter would be well within his compass.
“You know the game as well as I do in that when we have horses running in these races it makes it a lot easier to get out of bed in the morning.”
Detain bound for France
And Gosden will be chasing further 2000 Guineas glory in France on Sunday week at Longchamp with recent Chelmsford City scorer Detain.
Although Gosden expects Detain to have no problems handling the Parisian track, he is keeping his fingers crossed for a favourable draw.
He added: “The plan is to send him to the French 2000 Guineas. I think the track will suit him.
“I used to walk Longchamp with Frankie (Dettori) every year before the Arc, but if you stand at the mile start the track immediately turns right downhill and the horses on the inside immediately take two lengths out of you.
“The only thing about the French 2000 Guineas is that you need to draw a single number as if you get drawn between 10 and 18 you might as well trot back.”
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