Field of Gold narrowly missed out on a win in the 2,000 Guineas on Saturday, finishing half a length down on Charlie Appleby’s Ruling Court. That defeat meant that John Gosden is still looking for his first win in the race. Had the market leader come home in front, Gosden – now training in partnership with son Thady – would have complete the Classic set. Gosden himself may shrug off the importance of winning each of the 2,000 Guineas, the 1,000 Guineas, the Derby, the Oaks, and the St Leger at least once, but the rest of the racing world recognise the feat for the fine achievement it would be.
Despite disappointment for the Kingman colt, Gosden doesn’t have long to wait for his next Guineas assault. Taking place just one week after events at Newmarket, Longchamp plays host to the French 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas – officially titled the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and the Poule d’Esai des Poulains. Along with Irish superpower Aidan O’Brien, Gosden looks set to be represented in both races. Just like his Ballydoyle rival, the 74-year-old handler is no stranger to success on the other side of the Channel.
Just One Leg Missing From French Classic Collection
On British shores, Gosden has one win in the 1,000 Guineas, two in the Derby, four in the Oaks, and five in the St Leger. His record in France stands at two wins in the French 1,000, one in the French Derby (Prix du Jockey Club), and two in the French Oaks (Prix de Diane), whilst the French don’t have a direct equivalent of the three-year-old only St. Leger.
If we focus on the races restricted to the Classic generation, there is only one string missing for Gosden’s Gallic bow. Just as in Britain, it comes in the shape of the one-mile event for the colts, i.e. the Poule d’Essai des Poulains. Having waited so long to claim a British or French 2,000 Guineas, could Gosden bag the latter this weekend?
Detain on the Plane
Gosden’s leading French 2,000 Guineas hope, Detain, may not carry the same weight of expectation as Field Of Gold, but there is much to like about his profile heading into the race. Sporting the same Juddmonte silks as the 2,000 Guineas favourite, Detain is the horse most often selected to accompany Field Of Gold in training, suggesting he must show a fair level of ability at home.
The handsome bay colt also makes plenty of appeal on paper. Dam Nisriyna was unraced at the track but has already produced a trio of 107+ rated performers, including 2023 St Leger runner-up Arrest. Sire Wootton Bassett, meanwhile, is the choice of many to help fill the gap vacated by the sadly departed Galileo.
Detain runs out an impressive winner in the Unibet/British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes under Kieran Shoemark for the Gosden team! 🏆
@KShoemark | @thadygosden pic.twitter.com/mq4WWEGvAW
— Kempton Park Racecourse (@kemptonparkrace) August 21, 2024
Of course, a pedigree page alone doesn’t win races. Happily, Detain has gone some way towards delivering on that potential at the track. An impressive winner of a pair of Kempton Novice events last season, he got stuck in the mud in the Futurity Trophy but resumed winning ways at Chelmsford on his seasonal return. With Field Of Gold, Cosmic Year, and Jonquil, 2025 looks like a vintage year for Juddmonte in the 3yo mile division. The less-heralded Detain would find himself moving up the pecking order with a win in this event.
Strong Claims in French 1,000
Thanks to Valentine Waltz (1999) and Zenda (2002), Gosden knows how it feels to savour the taste of French 1,000 Guineas success. However, 23 years is a long time to wait for a trainer of Gosden’s standing. Perhaps the delayed hat-trick will arrive in 2025 via the Dubawi filly Zanzoun.
Unlike Detain, this regally bred sort took a little while to find her stride in her juvenile campaign. Defeats in Maiden and Novice company at Newmarket and York suggested she may not live up to her pedigree potential. However, she warmed to the task with an easy win on the Tapeta track at Southwell to head into her winter break on a high.
Whilst visually impressive, Zanzoun needed to improve markedly on that Class 5 win at the Nottinghamshire venue to make her presence felt in Group company. And improve she did. Plunged straight into the Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes on her seasonal return, she produced an exhilarating effort to come from last to first and register a success by just shy of two lengths.
On that effort, she wouldn’t look out of place in the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas, but she heads to France instead and appears likely to feature prominently in the market.