HARD to believe the Guineas are just around the corner. Next week, when many of us will be glued to Punchestown, the sales circuit rolls back into Newmarket for the Tattersalls Guineas Horses-in-Training and Breeze-Up Sale.

The youngsters will breeze on Wednesday morning and the sale itself is on Friday morning, starting at 9am with over 40 horses in training and followed (at noon) up by a massive 236 breezers.

The Guineas Breeze-Up Sale has produced 30 individual group-race or listed performers since 2018 including 31,000gns purchase Trueshan, winner of the Group 2 British Champions Long Distance Cup last year by seven and a half lengths and top sprinter Far Above, winner of the Group 3 Palace House Stakes last year and now among the Compas Stallions team.

There are 43 sires represented in the catalogue who have already sired classic or Group 1 winners, including Acclamation, Australia, Bated Breath, Camelot, Dark Angel, Exceed And Excel, Fastnet Rock, Footstepsinthesand, Holy Roman Emperor, Iffraaj, Kodiac, Lope De Vega, Make Believe, Mastercraftsman, Mehmas, Nathaniel, Oasis Dream, Pivotal, Sea The Moon, Showcasing, Siyouni and Zoffany.

In addition there are 19 first-crop sires with two-year-olds catalogued including Group 1 winners Aclaim, Almanzor, Churchill, Decorated Knight, Ectot, Galileo Gold, Highland Reel, National Defense, Postponed, Ribchester, Profitable and Zelzal.

As usual, Irish vendors dominate the breeze-up section. They include Robson Aguiar (11 entries), Thomond O’Mara’s Knockanglass Stables (11), John Bourke’s Hyde Park Stud (nine), Roger O’Callaghan’s Tally-Ho Stud (eight), Andy Slattery’s Meadowview Stables (seven), Willie Browne’s Mocklershill (seven), Johnny Hassett’s Bloodstock Connection (four), Adrian Costello’s Clenagh Castle (four) Eddie Linehan’s Lackendarra Stables (four), Longways Stables (Mick Murphy and Sarah O’Connell) (four), Mickey Cleere’s M.C. Thoroughbreds (four), Ger and Yvonne Kennedy Sherbourne Lodge Stud (five), Tom Whitehead’s Powerstown Stud (three), Eddie Ahern (three) and Eoin McDonagh’s Shanaville Stables (four).

The horses-in-training section of the Guineas Sale has quickly established itself as a consistent source of high-class performers and the 2021 renewal includes the Juddmonte Farms-consigned Kingman three-year-old Alpha King, who has been second on two of his three starts and has a Timeform rating of 82.

Others sure to attract interest include the group and listed performer Crossed Baton, the Timeform 100-rated four-year-old Will To Win and the three-year-old Nortonthorpe Boy who has won six times since Christmas for trainer Phil McEntee and is rated 92 by Timeform following his most recent victory when successful at Kempton Park over seven furlongs.

Owners and trainers also have the added incentive of three lots entered for the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes, 14 lots eligible for lucrative French premiums, 11 lots eligible for Great British Bonuses, nine lots entered in the Swedish Derby and Oaks Series, and six lots entered for the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes.

The full breeze will be shown live on the Tattersalls website, and on the Tattersalls Facebook page, starting at 9am on Wednesday, April 28th.

Sale info

Sale: Tattersalls Guineas Horses-In-Training & Breeze-Up Sale, Friday, April 30th

Times: Selling of HIT starts at 10am on Friday. Breeze-Up Sale starts at noon. The two-year-olds will breeze from 9am on Wednesday.

Lots: 43 in Horses-in-Training, 236 in Breeze-Up

Info: The sale will be restricted to those attending in a professional capacity. All those planning to attend are asked to familiarise themselves with the respective protocols for the sale and to complete a medical declaration form at the earliest opportunity via the tattersalls.com website. Telephone and online bidding facilities are also available.

Tel: 0044 1638 665931

Web: tattersalls.com

Travel restrictions

AS Ireland and Britain share a common travel area, those travelling from Ireland to Newmarket do not have to present a negative Covid-19 test result on arrival in Britain, nor do they have to quarantine.

On return to Ireland, passengers must produce evidence of a negative Covid-19 PCR (swab) test within the previous 72 hours, and they must fill in a passenger locator form which states where that person will self-isolate for the next 14 days. This period can be shortened to five days if the person tests negative again on day five.