Frankel heads Guineas entries

Unbeaten colt Frankel heads a total of 52 entries for the Group One 2000 Guineas which will mark the start of the inaugural British Champions' Series on Saturday, 30th April, at Newmarket.

The £350,000 contest includes no less than seven Group 1 winning colts with Henry Cecil's charge, who went on a thrilling sequence of four straight victories last season, chief amongst them.

Frankel stormed to success in the Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in October and his first major test in 2011 is likely to be the first British Classic of the season, staged on the historic Rowley Mile.

The Khalid Abdulla-owned Frankel had Group 1 Shadwell Middle Park Stakes hero, the David Simcock-trained Dream Ahead, back in fifth when capturing a hot renewal of the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes. The pair were ranked as joint-champion two-year-old colts according to the European Two-Year-Old Rankings, with ratings of 126.

Simcock revealed today: "Physically, I couldn't be happier with Dream Ahead. He has had a very, very good winter - he looks fantastic. He has matured, put a lot of weight on in the right places and he has started his training very well.

"He is doing two canters up Warren Hill with his lead horse and everything is very much on course for the 2000 Guineas. He will go straight there. I'm quietly confident that he will see out a mile. It's something that we won't know until we've tried."

The two-time Group 1 winner lost his unbeaten record when failing to fire in the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes but Simcock is unperturbed by that effort.

He added: "That wasn't his day, it certainly wasn't his running - and you will see a different horse in April."

Five of the six runners from that October contest hold entries in the 2000 Guineas; the Aidan O'Brien-trained runner-up and subsequent Group 1 Criterium International winner Roderic O'Connor, third-placed Glor Na Mara from the Jim Bolger yard and Godolphin handler Saeed bin Suroor's Group 2 Champagne Stakes victor Saamidd.

Godolphin could also be represented by seven three-year-olds trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni including Casamento and Dubai Prince.

The Jessica Harrington-trained Pathfork maintained his perfect record when seeing off Casamento by a head to win the Group 1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes, while the Richard Fahey-trained Wootton Bassett made it five wins from five starts in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Also of note, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Zoffany took the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in August, with the Richard Hannon-trained Group 2 Coventry Stakes victor Strong Suit in third.