Should we back Canford Cliffs for the 2010 2000 Guineas…
Lets kick off by watching Canford Cliffs win the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot (Youtube).
Wow, he bolted up didn’t he. Richard Hughes said after the win (in the Daily Telegraph)…
“The first day I sat on him I knew he was special. I gave him a half-speed one morning and I have never ridden anything like it in my life. He went off 10 lengths in front and the other two lads I was working with got a bollocking for not laying up! He’s a freak.”
Canford Cliffs could run in the Prix Morny at Deauville on August 23. So says trainer Richard Hannon, whose colt made it two from two when hugely impressive in the Coventry Stakes last week under Richard Hughes. Official handicappers believe that his rating of 118 is the best achieved by a two-year-old in ten years.
Hannon told the Racing Post regarding plans: “Canford Cliffs would have a three-pound penalty for the July Stakes. He is not entered in the Phoenix Stakes, and it would cost €25,000 to supplement him for the Curragh, so the Deauville race, which has not yet closed, looks the favoured option. I know it is two months away, but the break will do him good and Paul Roy, who bought a half-share in the colt the night before the Coventry, won the Morny with Dutch Art three years ago. We want to look after Canford Cliffs this season as he is a rangy colt with size and scope about him, and I am not surprised that the bookies have him favourite for next year’s 2,000 Guineas.
He has so much speed that inevitably there will be those who will question his ability to get the mile, but he will learn to settle better as he matures through the summer, and neither Hughesie nor I have any doubts about him staying the longer distance.”
A 2000 Guineas Winner, Canford Cliffs?
So should we back him for the 2000 Guineas? At this stage no, many good 2 year olds never make the grade and it was a similar story last season with Art Connoisseur who is good, but not a 2000 Guineas winner.
I hope Canford Cliffs fulfills the promise shown but at this stage lets wait and see!
