2,000 Guineas results: Churchill holds on in thrilling finish to take Classic victory at Newmarket

Ryan Moore held off Barney Roy and Al Wukair to ride the favourite to victory

Graham Clark
Newmarket
Saturday 06 May 2017 15:48 BST
Comments
Ryan Moore rides Churchill to victory in the 2,000 Guineas
Ryan Moore rides Churchill to victory in the 2,000 Guineas (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Churchill gave Aidan O'Brien a record eighth win in the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket when coming out on top in the first Classic of the season.

Last season's champion two-year-old showed he had trained on with a top-class performance under a confident ride from Ryan Moore, who had the 6-4 favourite perfectly placed throughout.

Moore managed to grab the rail at a crucial time after a steady pace had been set by Law and Order, Lancaster Bomber and Spirit Of Valor.

Churchill's turn of foot proved decisive as he got first run on his main rivals and won by a length from Barney Roy (7-2) with Al Wukair (11-2) a neck away in third.

Moore told ITV Racing: "He's such a lovely horse.

"He has a magnificent mind. I think he has everything you want in a racehorse - he travels, has speed and loads of class.

"He was always racing comfortably - he was there a little bit early.

"He always feels like there's more when you ask him."

O'Brien said: "I was very worried about it being his first run. He's a big horse and we knew he would come on for the run. Ryan gave him a lovely ride.

"Everyone at home was very happy with the horse which is why we took the chance to come first time, so I'm delighted.

"We always thought he was a horse with a lot of speed. Ryan was very happy to be handy. The pace was sensible and Ryan knew Donnacha's (O'Brien) horse (Lancaster Bomber) would take him there.

"The lads (owners) will decide about the Derby themselves. They make all the decisions about all the horses.

"He is very relaxed and will probably get as far as you want him to get - he has speed as well, but he has a very relaxed way of racing. He is by Galileo and horses by that sire very rarely lack stamina."

Result

1 Churchill (R L Moore) 6-4 Fav

2 Barney Roy (James Doyle) 7-2

3 Al Wukair (Gregory Benoist) 11-2

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in