Ruling Court gives Appleby his 3rd 2,000 Guineas in 4 years

Trainer Charlie Appleby won his third edition of the Group 1 2,000 Guineas in four years with Ruling Court, who held off the late run of favored Field of Gold in the 3-year-old classic over the straight mile at Newmarket.

Ruling Court raced for the first time in March when he won the Jumeirah Guineas at Meydan by six lengths. He faced a tougher task at Newmarket, where he faced ten rivals including his stablemate Shadow Of Light, last year’s champion juvenile in Europe. Field Of Gold also rated as one of his major rivals after an impressive win in the Craven Stakes (G3), the course and distance prep for the 2,000 Guineas.

Ridden by William Buick, the son of U.S. Triple Crown winner Justify travelled towards the middle of the pack in the early part of the one-mile contest. He was asked for his move with about three furlongs remaining, at the same time as Shadow Of Light joined him on the lead. He saw off his stablemate with about 1 1/16 mile remaining and then held off the closing Field Of Gold, who finished second by half a length.

It was a third 2,000 Guineas in four years for Appleby, following Coroebus in 2022 and Notable Speech a year ago.

“We came into here with a lot of confidence that we had the right horses,” he said. “It was a hard choice for William (to choose between Ruling Court and Shadow Of Light), but he saw it right in respect that he felt Ruling Court would see the mile out. He has outstayed them in the end. Everyone had their chance to have a crack coming out of the dip.

“I thought it might be a good match race between Ruling Court and Shadow Of Light at one point, although Field Of Gold was always going to come to the party late on and put it up to Ruling Court, but it was a great ride from William.”

Buick won the second 2,000 Guineas of his career. He said, “I feel amazing. These races are what it is all about and horses like this are a joy to deal with. To have them at my disposal, I am very grateful. I get to work with great people and, when you have results like this, it is very special.

“I love the way Ruling Court did it. He is so uncomplicated and we treated him like that today. We were going to let him do his thing, get comfortable, and then ride him as if a mile is well within his compass.

“He feels like a horse who could get further as well. A huge engine and that was only his fourth run.”

With that extra distance in mind, Appleby indicated that the English Derby (G1), over 1 1/2 miles at Epsom on June 7, could be the next race for Ruling Court.