Free racing tips for 2000 Guineas Day at Newmarket

I have made no secret that I have backed City of Troy for the 2000 Guineas - not for a huge amount and only at 6/4, but nevertheless I am very pleased that he has got to the start in one piece. 

When he galloped away from his rivals in the Dewhurst Stakes last October I really couldn’t see how a danger to him for this race could emerge and although I am looking at all of his rivals as a danger now, the reality is that is he has the best form in the race and if he has made even normal progress over the winter he should surely be good enough. 

Aidan O’Brien is on record saying that City of Troy was the best two-year-old he has ever trained and it looks as though he is still thinking the same way, leaving this colt as his sole representative. I'm taking that as s very significant indicator. 

It really didn’t work out for Lion Of War In America and he didn’t beat a horse in two runs in Stakes company over there. It is perhaps no surprise that he has returned back to his former yard and he could be an interesting angle into this very competitive handicap. 

The last time we saw Lion Of War over here he ran a three-quarters-of-a-length second in the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot looking very much as though he was a horse who was really getting his act together and improving rapidly. It is no surprise he was thought good enough to run in Group class races after that effort. Oisin Murphy was on board for that race and is back on board this afternoon. 

I put up Pisanello to win this prestigious Thirsk handicap last season and he was backed into favouritism to do. He only managed second place but ran really well. He won on his next start in good style so this is definitely the time of year to catch this seven-year-old.

The David O’Meara-trained gelding is back to the mark he won off last summer under today’s jockey Mark Winn who gets on well with him and still claims a useful 3lb. Pisanello should be fresh and well for this and given the good form of his yard should be able to give a good account and hopefully go one better this year. 

This five-year-old might make it a good day in Newmarket handicaps for trainer Charlie Johnston and keep up the stable’s good record over the years at this track and in this race in particular (winning this twice in last four years). Knightwood is a typical Johnston type in that he likes to get on with things from the front and that he can take his racing well. He was improving at the end of last season winning on two occasions and it looks very much as though he could still be on the up judged by his very encouraging return to action at Ripon last time out. The trip is ideal and all going seems to come alike to him. Joe Fanning is the ideal jockey for this type of horse and won on him last season so a good run looks assured. 

Bordogan and William Buick have certainly not had a happy association in two races so far but I am very hopeful it could be third time lucky for the combination here. After winning a novice stakes on the second of two runs as a juvenile, Bordogan went into many notebooks but it just didn’t happen for him last year despite being well backed on a few occasions. 

He wouldn’t be the first horse who blew out as a three-year-out and then came back firing off a lower mark at four and I am pinning my hopes that Bordogan falls into this category. It is easy to gain encouragement from his reappearance effort when he finished sixth, beaten just a length in a similar grade race at the Craven Meeting under Jimmy Quinn. Hopefully that was not another false dawn and Charlie Hills’ runner can finally start to live up to his early promise.