Qipco 2,000 Guineas: 'They are two very exciting colts' - top Classic insight

Saturday: 3.40 Newmarket
Qipco 2,000 Guineas (Group 1) | 1m | 3yo | ITV/RTV

Charlie Appleby couldn't be happier with Native Trail and Coroebus, the two star colts who bid to give him a first success in the £500,000 Qipco 2,000 Guineas.

Native Trail, unbeaten in five starts, including the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, is the Godolphin standard bearer, but few would be surprised if Coroebus made him work mighty hard.

Appleby said: "They are two very exciting colts. William [Buick] and James [Doyle] rode them in a breeze on Wednesday, and both horses looked great.

"Native Trail's preparation has been faultless and he's definitely come forward since the Craven.

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"With the stalls in the centre of the track, being drawn 15 doesn't worry me at all – he is the class horse in the field and William knows him very well.

"He is an unbeaten dual Group 1 winner and we are very much looking forward to him hopefully winning a Classic."

Coroebus, winner of two of his three starts, hasn't achieved as much on paper as his illustrious stablemate, but looks the type to improve at three.

"Coroebus is drawn on the other side in stall one, so I'd like to think we have both angles covered," Appleby added.

"His preparation has also been perfect and we got exactly what we wanted out of his racecourse gallop at Newmarket. He has certainly come on for that piece of work."

O'Brien bids for 11th Guineas

Aidan O'Brien, who has landed the Classic a remarkable ten times since 1998, is two-handed with the unbeaten Luxembourg and perceived second-string Point Lonsdale.

Although market position hasn't generally proved a solid guide to how O'Brien runners fare in British Classics, of his ten 2,000 Guineas winners only Magna Grecia (beat Ten Sovereigns) and Rock Of Gibraltar (beat Hawk Wing) were so-called second-strings.

Luxembourg looked every inch a proper Guineas horse when landing the Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster last October, while Point Lonsdale won his first four starts before being beaten three and a half lengths by Native Trail in the National Stakes.

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O'Brien said: "Everything has gone well with both horses, it's been smooth for them all the way along so far. They're two lovely colts. Luxembourg has always had a nice cruising speed. He was very good in the Beresford and the Futurity last season.

"This will be Point Lonsdale's first start over further than seven furlongs. We always thought he'd be able to stay further so we're looking forward to seeing how they both get on."

What they say

William Knight, trainer of Checkandchallenge
It's a big ask, but he's done nothing wrong and deserves to take his chance. The stiff mile will suit. He's untried on turf, but his preparation has been great.

Hugo Palmer, trainer of Dubawi Legend
His preparation has been faultless. All his work has been good. I'm very excited about him and we'll find out how much he's improved. I think speed is his forte and he's got a tremendous turn of foot. I'd be absolutely adamant he's trained on. He's definitely the best two-year-old I've trained – he was the equal second-best two-year-old in Europe last year on 115 – and it's now about how much he improves, as Galileo Gold improved from 110 to 122. I think he would win Galileo Gold's Guineas – I feel if they were in the same year Galileo Gold would finish second to him – but it's a different era. We've got two lengths to find with Native Trail and it's not a great deal. When you think of the favourite's running style in a big field, if he hits a flat spot in among horses he might get held up. Everyone feels there's scope there to take him on.

Hugo Palmer: pretty keen on the chances of Dubawi LegendCredit: Edward Whitaker

David Simcock, trainer of Light Infantry
We're very happy with the horse and he's done everything right. A mile will be no problem at all, he definitely wants that now. The only thing we don't know is how he handles fast ground. He's never run on it and until we get out there we won't know. He's very straightforward and I think he goes there in very good order. We're under no illusions it's a very tall order, but I think he'll run with credit.

Richard Fahey, trainer of Perfect Power
He's an exciting horse to train but when I say exciting, he never over-expresses himself. He just roams around the place, he eats all day, he sleeps all day. When you're galloping a Group 1 winner you expect them to win on the gallops by five or six lengths, but he joins them on the bridle and says hello when he gets to them. When he gets to the track he can pick up, he's got a blistering turn of speed. If you didn't know the horse at all and just sat down and watched the Greenham cold, you would be quite confident that he's going to stay a mile. I'm not saying we're going to win, but I wouldn't be shocked if we did.

Harry Herbert, chief executive of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, owners of Royal Patronage
The horse is in very good form and has done well physically from two to three. We've always felt him to be more of a Derby horse, but he has shown so much speed this spring that we're giving it a go. He beat Coroebus in the Royal Lodge yet we're 25-1 and Coroebus is second favourite; it doesn't make any sense.

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