Chaldea (GB) (Frankel {GB}), one of the most exciting horses in the UK, will likely run the prep for the 2000 Guineas in Greenham S. in Newbury next month, his trainer Andrew Balding has revealed.
8-1 joint chance for Guineas glory, Chaldean will bid to chart the path to victory just like his majesty Frankelwho took down Greenham before having one of the most memorable performances of all time at the Newmarket Classic.
Balding himself is no stranger to Guinea’s success. In 2020, he sent Kameko to win the race under the lead of Oisin Murphy. While Kameko won the 2000 Guineas without race preparation, Balding is happy to take a different approach from Chaldean, given how the pony developed during his race last year. .
Balding told TDN Europe, “We are very happy at this point. Chaldean has done very well during his tenure and has moved forward in his job, so at this point we are where we want to be.”
He added, “I think we’d rather prepare the Guineas with him and Greenham would be the obvious place for him. He wasn’t fined there and it’s eight miles from us. It would be the equivalent of galloping at home to get there and enter a race.
“He is a horse that improved from last year’s race – with each race he improved – so we planned to prepare him. That is the intention at the moment, to go to Newbury and then to Newmarket all is well.”
Chaldean went from strength to strength last season. After suffering defeat on his debut, he went on to win the next four starts, culminating in a win at G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster, followed by a win over Royal Scotsman (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) in the G1 Dewhurst S at Newmarket.
When asked if Chaldean being the May pony contributed to his massive progress last term, Balding said, “It could be, too. To be honest, he was a bit unlucky the first time because he was pickpocketed and a little bit inexperienced but he learned a lot from that and, like I said, with each running, he seems to be more advanced. It’s been a very rewarding two-year career and hopefully he can do just as well this year.”
He added, “After running for office a few times last year, he has become less glamorous at home. He’s very laid back and every time we take him to the track, he comes in. He’s just a great horse to do anything.”
Frankie Dettori teamed up with Chaldean to win his Champagne and Dewhurst, and Balding confirmed that the aim was for the legendary equestrian to maintain the partnership.
He concluded, “That was the intention [for Dettori to keep the ride this season]. We hope that is the case.”
