2,000 Guineas: Coroebus holds off Native Trail to claim Classic glory

Coroebus, at 5-1, surged into the lead over a furlong out and then comfortably held off the late run of his stable companion Native Trail, the 5-4 favourite, to win the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, giving Charlie Appleby his first success in the race and James Doyle, the winning rider, his first win in a British Classic.

Coroebus was always travelling easily and was sent for home as Royal Patronage, who had set a strong pace for the first three quarters of a mile, started to drop away. Native Trail, who had been drawn on the opposite side of the track to the winner, never looked likely to close the gap when Willliam Buick sent the previously unbeaten colt – and last season’s champion juvenile – in pursuit.

He crossed the line three-quarters of a length adrift of Coroebus, with Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg, who ran on strongly having been some way off the pace at halfway, putting down a useful marker for the Derby on 4 June, as he finished another length and a half away in third. Luxembourg, a son of the strong stayer Camelot, was cut from 3-1 to 11-4 by Coral for the Epsom Classic, while Coroebus, who is more likely to stay at around a mile, is 10-1 from 16-1.

“He [Native Trail] was just beaten by a better horse,” Appleby said afterwards. “I could see James was travelling for fun and that’s what this horse does, he’s a seven-furlong horse that could potentially get a bit further than a mile in time. You can’t take anything away from Native Trail, he’s gone down on his sword, but one horse had been there and done it and one had the scope to potentially go and do it.

“On the evidence of what we’ve seen today, they are the best two three-year-old colts around, so after discussions over the next few weeks, one will probably go