Emotionless absence sees Blue shorten

Bookmakers feel the Qipco 2000 Guineas could be a "turn-off" for punters after Emotionless was ruled out of the race on Saturday week.

Air Force Blue hardened to 4-7 favourite from 4-6 following the news that Godolphin's hope Emotionless, the 10-1 next best, will miss the colts' Classic, while 14-1 chance Blue De Vega is also considered unlikely to take his chance at Newmarket on Saturday week.

An odds-on shot and the likelihood of a small field for such a high-profile race in the early part of the Flat season is not what the sport needs, according to Ladbrokes spokesman David Williams.

"It's a big blow," he said.

"What we are left with is what no bookmaker would relish - a small field in the Guineas.

"This favourite is scaring horses away and now we've lost what the market says was his principal rival.

"Bookmakers do not want in an ante-post market a 4-7 favourite.

"We're looking at a 2000 Guineas that at the moment is lacking a bit of shape. You don't want a lap of honour or a procession, you want a race.

"With the favourite at 4-7, the race is a bit of a turn-off. It's news that has left us grimacing a bit and we are now just hoping it can retain some shape.

"We might have a superstar in Air Force Blue but we need opposition. If that opposition fades away you run the risk of having a non-event in betting terms.

"It's disappointing news and we pray for no more hiccups and that a few more trainers are willing to have a sporting crack at the favourite.

"The nightmare scenario is that we have less than eight runners. You don't want that in the first Classic of the season."

Trainer Charlie Appleby took the difficult decision to rule Emotionless out of the 2000 Guineas as he feels the Champagne Stakes winner will benefit from being given more time.

Godolphin's hope took part in a racecourse gallop at Newmarket last week which had been intended to put him spot on for the Classic but connections will now concentrate on the second half of the season.

"The horse has done nothing wrong in his work but I feel that he is still maturing and will be a better horse with more time," Appleby told www.godolphin.com.

"He is an incredibly exciting horse to train but he is a horse for the second half of the season and he has a real future as a four and five-year-old when he is fully developed. The decision not to run is a difficult one but it is in the best interests of the horse and that is all that matters."