The flat season’s first Classic arrives on Saturday and British racing finally gets its answer. Fifteen three year olds will break from the stalls on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket at 3:35, one mile of unforgiving straight turf separating them from history, and by the time the royal blue silks of Godolphin have crossed the line, RHR believes Charlie Appleby will have done something that no trainer has managed in this race since Aidan O’Brien between 2017 and 2019. He will have won it three years in a row.
The build up to the 2026 Betfred 2,000 Guineas has been anything but straightforward. Aidan O’Brien, the most decorated trainer in this race’s long history, found himself caught in an administrative nightmare when Gstaad and Albert Einstein were accidentally withdrawn from the confirmations. It turned out to be a clerical error, Gstaad was supplemented back into the race at a cost of thirty thousand pounds, and Albert Einstein was left on the sidelines entirely. As if that were not enough drama, Puerto Rico, who spent the better part of the winter heading the Ballydoyle market as their apparent number one, has now been pointed towards France. O’Brien has not won this race since 2019, and his Guineas runners in recent seasons have included City Of Troy and Auguste Rodin, both sent off at short prices and both completely bombed out before going on to win at Epsom. The pattern is familiar. Ballydoyle are building for the Derby, not the Guineas, and Gstaad, however talented, carries a stamina question on a fast straight mile that the dry ground forecast for Saturday does nothing to answer.
Into that uncertainty steps the man who has made the 2,000 Guineas his own. Charlie Appleby has won three of the last four renewals. Notable Speech, Ruling Court, and before them Coroebus, each one built on the same principles, a horse identified as a three year old type, kept fresh, brought to Newmarket with a clear target and a settled preparation. RHR’s PICK for the 2026 renewal is DISTANT STORM, and the reasoning sits in exactly that tradition.
The Night Of Thunder colt ran in the Dewhurst at Newmarket last autumn, which remains the single most reliable trial in the history of this race. He finished third, but the manner of that performance told a story that the bare result does not fully capture. He travelled strongly for most of the race, was prominent in the betting entering the final furlong, and Buick was clear afterwards that the horse needed time to mature and that a mile would suit him better. Appleby echoed that assessment throughout the winter, consistently describing Distant Storm as a three year old type who would improve significantly with the step up in trip. The Dewhurst form has since been substantially franked, with the fifth that day winning the Craven Stakes and the sixth taking the Greenham Stakes on his reappearance. The race was exactly what it looked like, one of the best pieces of two year old form of the season, and Distant Storm was right in the thick of it.
He has also done something on the racecourse that matters enormously at Newmarket. He has won here. The Rowley Mile has its own character, its own demands, and its own way of sorting out horses who handle it from those who do not. Distant Storm won a Group Three at this track, quickened well through the Dip, and galloped on to the line in the manner of a horse who genuinely relishes the course. He returned to the Rowley Mile for a workout under Buick in preparation for Saturday, finished comfortably at the head of the exercise, and Appleby described himself as very pleased with what he saw. Connections do not supplement a horse into a Classic at enormous cost unless they believe in him, and they do not keep a horse fresh all spring for one specific target unless they are confident he will deliver on the day.
The going forecast is dry and fast. That suits Distant Storm. That is another question mark over Gstaad, who wants cut in the ground and whose best form on a British straight mile remains unproven. Bow Echo is the market leader and there is no doubt he has a strong case, but only twice in the last twelve runnings has the favourite won this race. The public money will be on the favourite. RHR’s call is on the trainer who keeps finding ways to win it when others run out of answers.
Three consecutive victories in the Betfred 2000 Guineas would put Appleby in elite company. Distant Storm is the horse to give him that third, and the royal blue silks of Godolphin will be worth following down the Rowley Mile on Saturday afternoon. Follow Romping Home Racing for free daily premium tips across the flat season and beyond.
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