Best Stan James 2000 Guineas Since 2000

BHB handicapper Dominic Gardiner-Hill believes the 2006 Stan James 2000 Guineas will be rated the best since 2000.

Gardiner-Hill had expressed the view before this season´s first Classic that it 'had the potential to be the strongest for several years'.

He said at that stage: 'The top six colts from last season are in the field and all the key two-year-old races are represented.

'The quality is high and there is plenty of strength in depth, so going into the race you have to hope it will throw up a serious horse.'

Afterwards, he added: 'George Washington appears to have run to a mark of at least 121, which is the highest I´ve got recorded in the race since King´s Best ran to 124 in 2000.

'I don´t think it will be possible to rate George Washington up to the level achieved by King´s Best in the Guineas because, while he´s beaten Sir Percy comprehensively, I don´t think the second has quite run up to his Dewhurst Stakes figure.'

Gardiner-Hill continued: 'George Washington has the potential to rate a lot higher, and I didn´t really think the race was run to suit him.

'Once he came through to win, however, he quickly established a decent lead and won going away.

'It was an impressive performance and I´m sure he´s a very good horse, but the ratings of several of those just outside the first three hold the overall win-figure down.

'The likes of Araafa and Final Verse went into the Guineas rated on the same sort of figure - 106 or 107 - and my final assessment will have to take that into account.

'I´m sure they will be put up a little after today, but not by an enormous amount, so that demonstrates my thinking on the race as a whole.

'It was obviously a very high-class event, which has produced a very high-class winner, but the race-rating itself won´t result in an increase on George Washington´s two-year-old mark of 124.'

CROWD UP

The crowd for Stan James 2000 Guineas day totalled 17,602, as against 16,837 in 2005.

That figure betters all but one of the attendances on the equivalent afternoon this millennium - the 17,883 in 2003 - and Newmarket´s managing director Lisa Hancock expressed her satisfaction with the strong public turnout.

'We´ve seen a sensational winner of the Stan James 2000 Guineas and a big crowd has been here to see it.

'The strong advance sales held up in all enclosures and we are looking forward to another great day tomorrow, when the fillies take centre stage in the Stan James 1000 Guineas.'

The Stan James 2000 Guineas WIN QUOTES

Brilliant George powers to Guineas glory

George Washington lit up the NatWest Rowley Mile course with a fantastic performance to land the Stan James 2000 Guineas in style.

Jockey Kieren Fallon had the Danehill colt covered up in the early paces before the pair imposed themselves on the race.

Aidan O´Brien´s charge came there to win two furlongs out and he settled the issue in a matter of strides.

As the field approached the final 220 yards, it was clear there was only going to be one winner and George Washington roared home with two-and-half-lengths to spare.

O´Brien said: 'He´s unbelievable. It´s that raw ability, that raw power and speed he has.

'Even though he´s very mature physically, mentally he´s only probably starting to grow up.

'He´s open to anything. I couldn´t believe that he was going to get a mile. When you see a horse going through his work the way he does - it´s raw speed.

'We´ve never had a horse that showed this kind of speed and get that kind of a trip. Those kind of speed horses don´t usually get very far.

'Kieren was so confident. Last Tuesday, I said to him, ´there´s races after this if this horse gets beat´.

'I never had to say that to anyone riding a horse before. Kieren just could not see defeat.

'I don´t know how far he´ll get. He´s that kind of a horse who could get any trip.'

Before today O´Brien had yet to have a three-year-old colt win on the turf this year but the Ballydoyle camp weren´t overly concerned.

O´Brien added: 'Kieren was riding them all and he was very happy all the time. Everyone was happy at home.

'Everything that was running, was running okay. Kieren never said that he wasn´t happy.'