Dermot Weld’s Tahiyra heads 1000 Guineas confirmations

Dermot Weld’s Tahiyra features amongst the 22 confirmations for the Qipco 1000 Guineas, the opening fillies Classic of the season.

The daughter of Siyouni is unbeaten in two outings having followed up an impressive debut victory at Galway by downing Aidan O’Brien’s Breeders’ Cup heroine Meditate in the Moyglare Stud Stakes last September and she has held a position towards the top of the ante-post lists ever since.

Tahiyra and Meditate dominate the top of the market for Sunday’s race at Newmarket and Weld has issued an update suggesting the favourite is likely to line up.

“We’ve left her in at the forfeit stage for the 1000 Guineas on Sunday and the present thought is she will run, but we will make a definite decision later in the week and see how she is,” Weld told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.

“She’s coming all the time, she’s a filly that hasn’t really grown from two to three but I’m happy and I think she has progressed nicely over the last two weeks and the present thought is we will let her take her chance. We will not confirm that till later in the week.”

As well as Meditate O’Brien could saddle Never Ending Story, with Kieran Cotter’s Matilda Picotte, second to Never Ending Story recently, also on course for a raiding mission.

Richard Hannon leads the British charge with his Nell Gwyn winner Mammas Girl and could also be represented by Powerdress, while as well as Mammas Girl, owners Amo Racing could see Olivia Maralda make her debut for Roger Varian in the race.

Mawj got the better of Dream Of Love by a short head on her first run at Meydan before going on to trounce Nell Gwyn runner-up Fairy Cross in the next time out and that trio give Godolphin a strong hand in a race they last won in 2011 with Blue Bunting.

Ralph Beckett could saddle three in search of his first victory in the race with Fred Darling winner Remarquee, last year’s Cheveley Park champion Lezoo and Dick Poole winner Juliet Sierra all poised to step out onto the Rowley Mile.

It will be Lezoo’s first outing since storming to victory at the track last autumn and connections are keen to praise the efforts of the team at Beckett’s Hampshire base for ensuring their star filly makes the line-up.

“Lezoo goes for the 1000 Guineas and it’s a great feat by the team at Kimpton to have both Lezoo ready to run and Prosperous Voyage who will run in the Dahlia Stakes that day. Hopefully Frankie will ride both of them,” said Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for owners Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen.

“That’s a fair achievement and so much can go wrong – we’ve had a very cold and wet spring – and we’re really happy to be heading there on Sunday.”

Of those not confirmed, Karl Burke’s Electric Eyes was shortest in the betting, while John Quinn’s Breege and John and Thady Gosden’s Running Lion are other notable names to skip the May 7 contest.