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Palmer fancies a Royal Ascot battle of Guineas winners

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Galileo Gold: could tackle Awtaad again in the St James’s Palace Stakes

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)  

 By Mark Storey 7:00AM 23 MAY 2016 

HUGO PALMER is hungry for a fresh fight between Galileo Gold and his Irish 2,000 Guineas conqueror Awtaad in a Royal Ascot humdinger likely to be graced by a third Guineas winner in The Gurkha.

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The St James’s Palace Stakes in 22 days’ time is building up into one of the races of the season and Palmer believes better ground could lead to a different outcome to that at the Curragh on Saturday, where Awtaad enjoyed the testing conditions to master the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas winner by two and a half lengths.

Awtaad’s connections on Sunday said they were inclined to keep the son of Cape Cross at a mile instead of tackling the extra four furlongs of the Investec Derby, a stance echoed by Aidan O’Brien over his French Guineas winner The Gurkha, who was last night a top-priced 7-4 favourite for the Ascot Group 1 on June 14.

Palmer, who scratched Galileo Gold from the Derby last week, said: “The St James’s Palace is meant to be the championship decider between the two Guineas winners and if The Gurkha comes as well what a race we have to savour – better than the Derby.

“I’m not afraid to take on the Curragh winner again on better ground. It’s a very exciting prospect that I’d relish and would be fantastic for racing. The winner was exciting on the ground at the Curragh and might be better on good ground, but we’ll certainly not shy away from taking him on again.”

‘No hiding place’

Palmer revealed his Curragh runner-up blew for 30 minutes afterwards, compared to five or six following his Newmarket success, and his participation at Ascot, for which he is a best-priced 5-1, with Awtaad at 4-1, will hinge on how he recovers.

Palmer said: “He ate up and was sound and bright this morning. But the St James’s Palace would be his third Group 1 in six and a half weeks and there will be absolutely no hiding place.

“The way he was blowing showed how much harder he found it. There’s always the question about how significant a mark it has left on him. But early indications are he took the race well.

“We want to win the St James’s Palace and go to the Sussex Stakes as worthy favourite. We always thought he’d finish the year in the QEII at Ascot, but with the likelihood of soft ground there in October it brings the Breeders’ Cup into play.”

‘Winner relished ground’

Reflecting on the tactics of a contest in which Frankie Dettori, drawn in stall one, bravely darted Galileo Gold up a gap on the inside rail, only to find Chris Hayes and Awtaad had flown on the outside, Palmer said: “Frankie had three options. To do what he did, to have gone forward and never been left alone or to have dropped out, gone around and followed the winner. But on that ground I suspect the result wouldn’t have been any different.

“The winner relished the ground and we’d have always been a good second. If we’d been drawn in stall eight with the winner in one and boxed in like we were, and we had first run, he might have still come past us.”

Like The Gurkha, Awtaad, who gave veteran trainer Kevin Prendergast his first Irish 2,000 Guineas triumph since 1976, is still engaged at Epsom.

 

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