Dubai: Team Godolphin’s hopes of winning a fourth English 2,000 Guineas (G1) were dealt a blow when trainer Charlie Appleby withdrew his potential star from this month’s Classic saying that the decision was taken ‘in the best interest of the horse.’
An impressive winner of last year’s Champagne Stakes, Emotionless was 10-1 second favourite for the April 30 at Newmarket behind the Aidan O’Brien-trained Air Force Blue.
“The horse has done nothing wrong in his work but I feel that he is still maturing and will be a better horse with more time,” Appleby said on the Godolphin website.
“He is an incredibly exciting horse to train but he is a horse for the second half of the season and he has a real future as a four and five-year-old when he is fully developed.
“The decision not to run is a difficult one but it is in the best interests of the horse and that is all that matters.”
Air Force Blue is now a short-priced 4-6 favourite to give O’Brien a record-break eighth success in the colt’s Classic.
Godolphin last won the Guineas in 2013 with Dawn Approach following previous wins by Island Sands in 1999 and Mark Of Esteem in 1996.
