2,000 Guineas Winners

The first colts’ Classic of the season, the 2,000 Guineas, has a long, rich history dating back to the early nineteenth century. Its roll of honour reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of three-year-old miling talent down the years and it is no coincidence that three of the top four Flat horses of the Timeform era, which began shortly after World War II, were victorious on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket.

Top of the shop comes Frankel, the highest-rated Flat horse of modern times, if not all time. Trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil and ridden, throughout his career, by Tom Queally, the son of Galileo was retired unbeaten, after 14 races – including 10 at Group 1 level – in October 2012. On April 30, 2011, Frankel was sent off at prohibitive odds in the 2,000 Guineas, but justified his market position with consummate ease. By halfway, he was at least 10 lengths clear of his rivals and, despite idling in the closing stages, only had to be ridden out to win, impressively, by six lengths.

Unlike Frankel, Brigadier Gerard was beaten just once in his 18-race career, but was still awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 144, placing him joint-third on the all-time list, alongside Tudor Minstrel and behind only Frankel (147) and the 1965 Derby winner, Sea Bird (145). Trained by Dick Hern and ridden by Joe Mercer, Brigadier Gerard faced just five rivals in the 1971 2,000 Guineas, but was actually sent off third favourite, behind Mill Reef and My Swallow. Asked for his effort running into the ‘Dip’, Brigadier Gerard asserted on the climb to the winning post and soon put three lengths between himself and Mill Reef, who held second by three-quarters of a length from My Swallow.

Further back in the history of the 2,000 Guineas, Tudor Minstrel, trained by Fred Darling and ridden by Gordon (later Sir Gordon) Richards, w