Blast From The Past: 2006 Guineas

The Newmarket classics of 2006 went to two very different sets of connections. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and owned by the Coolmore partners, the 2000 Guineas was won by the blue-blooded George Washington, at 1,150,000 guineas the most expensive yearling of his crop sold in Europe. Twenty-four hours later, the 1000 Guineas, on the other hand, went to the stable of ‘Fenland farmer’ (her description) Pam Sly with 30,000 guinea breeze-up purchase Speciosa, one of only a dozen Flat horses in her string.  

The winner of his last four starts as a two-year-old, including the Phoenix Stakes (by eight lengths) and the National Stakes, George Washington had long been favourite for the 2000 Guineas and was backed down to 6/4 on the day. George Washington ran out an impressive winner by two and a half lengths from the Dewhurst (and future Derby) winner Sir Percy to become the fourth of his trainer’s now joint-record seven winners of the 2000 Guineas. O’Brien would have missed witnessing George Washington’s win as he had been at the start to make sure the colt behaved at the stalls. A reluctance to be loaded was just one of the ways in which George Washington’s temperament manifested itself as became evident immediately after the race. Racehorses describes what happened:

‘If George Washington had taken the preliminaries at Newmarket in his stride for the most part, he was in no mood to co-operate on his return to the winner’s enclosure, turning in an almost unique display of temperament for a classic winner, rooting himself to the spot on the walkway to the paddock, refusing to be led forward even when his trainer took the reins, eventually being taken via the pre-paddock but still failing to appear in the designated area, delaying his rider weighing in. ‘He didn’t want to come in because the other horses had gone the other way,’ said O’Brien. ‘There was no point getting into an argument. If he pleases us on the track, that’s the big thing.’’

A day later (by which time the ground had changed from good to firm, after more than an inch of rain, to soft!), and this time it was Speciosa’s return to the winner’s enclosure that was worthy of comment:

‘Even if the temperamental George Washington had eventually been persuaded to enter the winner’s enclosure after the Two Thousand Guineas, he wouldn’t have met a reception on the scale of that afforded to Speciosa twenty-four hours later. A classic winner from a smallish stable, she was given the most tumultuous welcome seen at Newmarket for many a year, perhaps matched in recent years only by that given to the redoubtable Persian Punch after he battled back to win his third Jockey Club Cup in 2003…Mrs Sly received three cheers from those surrounding the winner’s enclosure, the first time that had occurred on such a scale at Newmarket since Henry Cecil was similarly feted after Bosra Sham’s emotional victory in the 1996 Champion Stakes.

Successful in the Rockfel Stakes at two and in the Nell Gwyn on her reappearance, Speciosa started at 10/1 for the 1000 Guineas with Rumplestiltskin the 3/1 favourite to complete a Guineas double for Ballydoyle. But the latter finished only seventh behind Speciosa who made all the running to beat the subsequent Prix de Diane winner Confidential Lady by two and a half lengths.

Speciosa wasn’t entirely straightforward either, with a tendency to hang left in her races. She had also proven a real handful as a two-year-old for the photographer sent to take her posed portrait for Racehorses. It took forty-five minutes to get her to stand anything like properly, and even then the photograph wasn’t deemed good enough for publication!