UPDATED 11:10AM, APR 30 2021
Staying races have a habit of throwing up wide-margin winners, but Klassical Dream looked a man among boys at Punchestown when, barely turning a hair, he sauntered to success in the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle.
If that was not impressive enough for you, the 2019 Supreme Novices Hurdle winner was posting one of the classiest championship race-winning performances Punchestown has seen off the back of an 18-month hiatus, making the extraordinary look ordinary.
However, when you have Willie Mullins in your corner you have a chance, and the connections of Klassical Dream were rewarded in spades for keeping the faith with a horse who had not raced since the Christmas of 2019.
Qipco 2,000 Guineas (Group 1) | 3yo colts & fillies | 1m | ITV/RTV
Aidan O Brien s challenge for an 11th win in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas presents a different profile to recent seasons, with arguably no one standout among three colts that all achieved a high level of form at two.
Wembley is the anointed one in a wide-open market, thanks to the booking of Ryan Moore as well as his course form when second to stablemate St Mark s Basilica last October. The plan was always to come back here after the Dewhurst, when he would have preferred better ground and was maybe drawn a little out of it, said O Brien. Everything went well with him over the winter and through the spring. Ryan knows him well and we re very happy with him.
UPDATED 8:03PM, APR 30 2021
And breathe. Between the second-last and about 100 yards from the last this looked like being a lap of honour for Honeysuckle; a glorious homecoming with no residue from her resplendent Cheltenham exertions.
But then it dawned on us. This is Punchestown and Willie Mullins lets you win nothing around here without fighting for it, so Sharjah sneaked out of the pack to try to spoil the party. But, boy, does this girl know how to fight.
The unbeaten sequence was in serious danger as she slowed right up into the final flight, her advantage diminishing from five lengths to one in the blink of an eye, and Sharjah seemed to have all the momentum.
Forecast odds: 7-1
Should star mare Honeysuckle be off her A-game the high-class Sharjah could pick up the pieces at what is a slightly insulting price given his ability.
Sharjah: top-class performer should outrun his odds once again
Patrick McCann
The eight-year-old is a three-time Matheson Hurdle winner, Galway Hurdle hero and has finished second in the Champion Hurdle for the past two years, but has strong course-and-distance form too having beaten Faugheen comprehensively in the 2018 Morgiana Hurdle.
Despite finishing ahead of Epatante and Goshen at Cheltenham last month, they are preferred toSharjah inthe betting despite having more questions to answer. Should the race fall apart, the fast-finisher could use his trademark turn of foot to give Willie Mullins a record-extending ninth win.
UPDATED 11:29AM, APR 30 2021
The Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up and Horses in Training Sale has long been a source of proven talent, with former graduates such as Far Above, Trip To Paris and Trueshan plying their trade at Group level.
A sense of normality has also ensued after last year s sale was moved to July as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and confidence among vendors will have been boosted after the Craven Breeze-Up Sale registered a positive set of figures, while the Goffs UK variant produced the finest returns in the history of the sale.
The Breeze-Up Sale, which takes place at 11.30am following the horses in training section at 10am, has produced 30 individual Listed/Group winners since 2018 and includes lots by leading sires such as Camelot, Dark Angel, Kodiac, Sea The Moon, Siyouni and Oasis Dream, while the first-season sires feature Almanzor, Ardad, Cotai Glory and Profitable.