Misty heads Irish challenge in 1000

There are 79 fillies entered for the Group 1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday, 1st May, including Aidan O'Brien's Misty For Me.

The Ballydoyle filly, one of 23 Irish-trained entries, recorded the first of two Group 1 victories last term by defeating Laughing Lashes in the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.

The daughter of Galileo rounded off her juvenile campaign with a victory over the highly regarded Criquette Head-Maarek-trained Helleborine in the Prix Marcel-Boussac at Longchamp.

Head-Maarek has plundered the 1000 Guineas on four occasions and could also saddle Exemplify.

Godolphin's Group 1 Fillies' Mile heroine White Moonstone is a leading contender following her defeat of the O'Brien-trained Together and third-placed Theysken's Theory from the Brian Meehan stable at Ascot.

She continues to please connections and trainer Saeed bin Suroor revealed today: "White Moonstone is on course for the 1000 Guineas and she is in very good order at the moment. She has developed well with a nice winter in Dubai and she looks in good condition.

"We have put her back into full training and she will do a gallop at the end of March before continuing with the serious work when she returns to Newmarket in early April.

"The going was good to soft when she won the Fillies' Mile but I think that good ground would be fair enough for her, like she had at Doncaster. She won twice over a mile as a two-year-old, so you would expect her to get further in time, but we will see how she gets on at Newmarket before deciding whether to step her up in distance."

Suroor also trains recent Group 3 UAE Oaks victor Khawlah, who was impressive when winning that Meydan contest.

He said: "We will keep the options open for Khawlah and she came out of her victory in the UAE Oaks in good heart. We might start her off in the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes at York instead of the 1000 Guineas and take her season from there. She is another nice filly who is improving all of the time."

Godolphin could also be represented in the £350,000 contest by the Mahmood Al Zarooni-trained Zoowraa, impressive when winning a Listed race at Newbury, plus Blue Bunting and Sunset Avenue from the same stable.

Also taking high rank among the entries is last season's impressive Group 1 Adnams Cheveley Park Stakes winner Hooray from the Sir Mark Prescott stable.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned daughter of Invincible Spirit was rated the best two-year-old filly in Europe with an official rating of 117, and is expected to make her three-year-old debut in the Newmarket Classic.

Sir Michael Stoute has an exciting candidate in the shape of Havant, who slammed the O'Brien-trained Look At Me to land the Group 3 Sakhee Oh So Sharp Stakes on the Rowley Mile in October.

Memory, trained by Richard Hannon landed the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Group 2 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket's July Festival last year, while the Mick Channon-trained Soraaya, runner-up in the latter contest, took the Group 2 Abu Dhabi Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot.