Dawn Approach’s 2000 Guineas

Dawn Approach powered away from his rivals to win the first British Classic of the year, the 2000 Guineas, very impressively by five lengths for Godolphin at Newmarket on Saturday, May 4, 2013.

Trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning, Dawn Approach raced in fourth in the mile contest on turf before moving up with two and a half furlongs remaining.

The three-year-old New Approach colt hit the front within another furlong and went clear in the final furlong.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, the founder and driving force of Godolphin, was present at Newmarket to see Dawn Approach’s tremendous victory.

He said: “I am very, very happy to come and see a good horse win the Guineas and I think he is a great horse.”

Jim Bolger commented: “Dawn Approach was very impressive. We were very happy with him and he galloped right to the line.”

Kevin Manning added: “He is a very special horse – he has done it very easily and travelled very well throughout the race.”

Jim Bolger has confirmed QIPCO 2000 Guineas hero Dawn Approach will be aimed towards the Derby at Epsom on June 1.

The unbeaten juvenile produced a brilliant performance to win the first Classic of the season on Saturday by five lengths.

Godolphin’s colt will now bid to emulate his sire, New Approach, who claimed the Derby five years ago.

Bolger said: “Dawn Approach has come out of the 2000 Guineas in excellent shape and I couldn’t be more pleased with him. I am now looking forward to running him in the Investec Derby at Epsom.”

Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford told www.godolphin.com: “It has been agreed that Dawn Approach should run in the Investec Derby on June 1.

“His temperament and demeanour are excellent and he relaxes in his races which means he has a better chance of seeing out the mile and a half.”

Dawn Approach’s stunning five-length demolition of the Qipco 2,000 Guineas field at Newmarket on Saturday could hardly have been any more comprehensive.

The big question coming into the season’s opening Classic was whether or not Jim Bolger’s unbeaten colt had the scope to improve enough from his spectacular juvenile exploits to maintain that superiority over his peers at three.

On this evidence, not only has he done so, but it looks as though he might well have progressed even further ahead of his peers.

Having won last term’s opening two-year-old race over five furlongs en route to clocking up six flawless victories, Dawn Approach needed to produce something special to emerge from the three-year-old Group One with his reputation enhanced.

Incredibly, he did, claiming a momentous first triumph in the race for the perpetual revelation that is the Coolcullen wizard.

The thing that defined Dawn Approach’s wins in 2012, not least his top-level victories at the Curragh and Newmarket, was the way that he responded for pressure. His was an understated brilliance, marked by a determined resilience that enabled him to grind down his rivals. On his first stab at a mile, Kevin Manning’s game partner again exhibited all that character to see off Toronado by the furlong pole, before striding clear of the 150/1 shot Glory Awaits.

However, this time he travelled far more kindly through the third quarter than he did last year, displaying the sort of tactical pace you wouldn’t necessarily have associated with him.

Naturally, a tilt at the Derby is now on the agenda, with Bolger reiterating yesterday that Dawn Approach would “more than likely” go to Epsom.

In light of the Mahmood Al Zarooni doping scandal that has besmirched Godolphin’s good name, Sheikh Mohammed would relish seeing his royal blue silks carried to a timely first victory in the Epsom feature.

Dawn Approach’s pedigree doesn’t scream 12 furlongs, but his sire New Approach managed to win a Derby after fighting hard for his head from the get-go, while his dam is a half-sister to Danticat, a winner over most of 13 furlongs at Down Royal in 2006. He settles well, his class will get him a long way, and a horse with his constitution won’t wilt easily.

Tags: 2000guineas, DawnApproach

Category: International