Guineas favourite to make first appearance of season at Newbury
Published:He’s the three-year-old tipped for big things and his first appearance at Newbury on Saturday will go a long way to telling us whether or not Frankel deserves his favouritism in the 2000 Guineas and Derby betting.
Today marks the start of Newmarket’s first flat meeting of the season with the highlight being the Craven Stakes on Thursday, and with the Guineas meeting just 17 days away, the contenders are being sent out for their prep runs.
Native Khan is the 1/1 favourite to win the Craven Stakes on Thursday, but it’s his market rival in the 2000 Guineas betting that is drawing all of the attention.
Favourite to win both the 2000 Guineas and the Derby – Ladbrokes are offering 6/1 for Frankel to do the double – the unbeaten Frankel puts his record on the line in Saturday’s Greenham Stakes at Newbury.
Currently 4/5 to win the 2000 Guineas Frankel’s price will shorten should he win on Saturday.
But Guineas rival Strong Suit lines up alongside Frankel in the Greenham Stakes and a strong showing from Richard Hannon’s colt would see his Guineas odds of 16/1 cut.
With ante-post Guineas betting in mind, these prep runs offer punters plenty of opportunities to find value, and as the first of the five flat racing Classics approaches, now is the best time to explore the Classic betting.
Should Frankel win on Saturday he’s likely to be one of three runners who are unbeaten over three starts on hurdles lining up for the 2000 Guineas and Pathfork (6/1) and Wooten Bassett (16/1) will be rivals to Frankel.
However Richard Fahey, trainer of Wooten Bassett, warned punters yesterday that his three-year-old is a 50/50 chance for the 2000 Guineas and if he isn’t to run Frankel’s chances will improve significantly.
A £10 stake on Frankel winning the 2000 Guineas and the Derby would return £70. New customers can sign up here for a free horse racing bet worth up to £30.
