In an exciting enhancement to the two-day weekend meeting, which stages the first two Classics of the season, racing will now also take place on the Friday and run from April 29^th to May 1^st in 2022.

The QIPCO 2000 and QIPCO 1000 Guineas will remain in their current positions, with further details about Friday 29^th April including the race programme, what racegoers can expect off the track and ticket details announced in due course.

Sophie Able, Newmarket Racecourses’ General Manager, said: “We’re delighted to be enhancing one of British racing’s most prestigious Flat racing fixtures and a meeting which has shown sustained growth in the last decade.

“An additional day means more flexibility to optimise the meeting’s race programme both for participants and those who follow and bet on racing, as well as the chance to use the existing infrastructure to create another great day out for our customers.

“There are wider benefits too in terms of the shape of Newmarket’s early-season fixture list, more recovery time for the course itself and an easier operational switch onto the July Course.

“Most of all though, Newmarket at the beginning of May is a magical place to be, and this is another chance to see the home of horseracing at its very best.

“We’re excited about the opportunities for further growth this change will bring, and the benefits racing will see through subsequent reinvestment, and we hope everyone looks forward to a three-day QIPCO Guineas Festival next year as much as we will.”

Rod Street, Chief Executive of British Champions Series, said: “The QIPCO Guineas Festival is one of the highlights of the British sporting calendar and we welcome the fact that racegoers will be able to enjoy a third day of brilliant racing from the Rowley Mile.

“Whilst the circumstances in 2020 were very different, we have seen the interest that a three-day Festival is able to generate and very much view this as a chance to engage more people in one of racing’s most important events.”

The post Qipco Guineas Festival To Move To Three Days From 2022 Onwards appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

After the Fillies’ Mile, Aidan O’Brien contacted the Newmarket Stewards to say that both Snowfall and Mother Earth had been incorrectly saddled.

Both Ballydoyle horses wore the wrong number cloths with the horses being ridden by the incorrect jockeys. On the day, Aidan O’Brien’s Snowfall appeared to finish third and Mother Earth eighth.

The BHA used Rule (G)7 of the Rules of Racing to change the result. Mother Earth is now confirmed in third with Snowfall eight.

The post Fillies’ Mile result amended appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The daughter of Galileo, the only O’Brien-trained representative in the fillies’ one-mile classic, showed a devastating turn of foot in the closing stages of the race to claim a comfortable victory.

Love, a fourth victory in the race for her sire, following the successes of Minding (2016), Winter (2017) and Hermosa (2019), was also Aidan O’Brien’s fourth win in the past five runnings of the race.

Racing in the centre of the Rowley Mile track, Love and Ryan Moore, who were well placed throughout the race, took the lead at the furlong pole. The favourite Quadrilateral (11/4f) came under pressure on her inside, as big market outsider Final Song (100/1), one off the rail, battled away with Cloak Of Spirits (12/1), who held the rail.

Love then turned on the power to leave her rival in her wake, winning by four and a quarter lengths from Cloak Of Spirits, who held off Quadrilateral for the runner-up spot by a head, with a length further back to Final Song in fourth.

Winning rider, Ryan Moore, was very impressed with his 4^th Qipco 1000 Guineas winner, stating:

“She’s very uncomplicated, a typical Galileo. She was in control from a long way out and won as she liked. I don’t know her plans but it’s possible she will stay the Oaks trip.”

Her trainer, Aidan O’Brien, later confirmed post-race that Love, winner of last season’s Moyglare Stud Stakes during Longines Irish Champions Weekend, will now likely go for the Investec Oaks over 1m 4f at Epsom next month.

The post Love is impressive winner of Qipco 1000 Guineas appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The Andrew Balding-trained colt got the better of Aidan O’Brien’s Wichita (15/2) and the previously unbeaten hot favourite Pinatubo (5/6f), who came into the race unbeaten in six juvenile starts, and with the highest two-year-old rating for 25 years.

A race run in record time saw outsiders Persuasion and Juan Elcano set the early pace, with the main players in the market, namely Wichita, Arizona, Kameko and Pinatubo in contention nearing the two-furlong pole.

Killarney-born jockey Oisín Murphy came wide on Kameko to outstay Wichita (Frankie Dettori) by a neck, while Pinatubo (William Buick), who had every chance, finished a further length back in third place.

A delighted British Champion jockey, Oisín Murphy, said of today’s victory:

“I’ve never won a Classic in Britain and it means the absolute world to me. It’s the stuff of dreams. It was a gutsy performance. He hardly blew a candle out afterwards – he must have a tremendous amount of ability.”

Andrew Balding, the winning trainer, was delighted with Kameko’s success, stating:

“He was doing his best work late on and this is his minimum. He will stay further than this. He has always looked smart and he always looked like he would be a better three-year-old as well.”

Following today’s Qipco 2000 Guineas win, Kameko was promoted to Epsom Derby favouritism for the July 4^th premier classic, with his trainer believing the Qatar Racing-owned colt will stay further:

“To me it looks the obvious choice, there would be a stamina doubt but there’s only one way to find out. He will certainly get a mile and a quarter, but there is a certain race over a mile and a half in July that would be quite appealing.”

The racing continues on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket on Sunday, with the second British classic of the season, the Qipco 1000 Guineas the day’s main contest.

The post “It’s the stuff of dreams” as Kameko lands Qipco 2000 Guineas for Oisín Murphy appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.