Dubai: Despite being sent off at ridiculous odds of 100/1, Godolphin’s Final Song ran a huge race to finish a competitive fourth behind the winner, Love, in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse on Sunday.
Ridden by Pat Cosgrave, Saeed Bin Surour’s UAE 1,000 Guineas Trial scorer looked to have every chance with one furlong to run, as she found daylight at the Rowley Mile course.
Cosgrave got to work on the daughter of Dark Angel, who was last seen finishing third in the Samba Saudi Derby in Riyadh this February, but while Final Song appear to have more in the tank, it was not forthcoming as the Ryan Moore-ridden Love swept past for victory.
Long-time leader Cloak Of Spirits, the mount of Italian rider Andrea Atzeni stayed on for second with favourite Quadrilateral a head behind in third under Jason Watson.
Godolphin’s other contender, the Charlie Appleby-trained Summer Romance, finished in eighth place under William Buick.
During the final stage of the race, Cosgrave and Final Song must have had bookmakers looking on with their hearts in the mouths as the outsider loomed as a big danger to the front runners in the 15-strong field.
Conceivably, Bin Surour’s filly who was a dominant winner at Ascot last May before being placing in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot and the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket, was in need of run on turf, having had three out of four outings on dirt this season.
However, there was no denying that the Irish-trained Love was the best horse in the race, as she showed plenty of ability and finishing speed to prevail by four-and-a-half lengths, a performance that saw her head to next month’s Epsom Oaks as the 7/4 favourite.
Moore, who was completing a fourth win in the 1,000 Guineas, told ITV racing: “She’s a very uncomplicated filly and we’ve always thought a lot of her.
“She’s a typical Galileo filly and she was in control of the race from a long way out.
“I’d say it’s a possibility that she’d stay [1m4f at Epsom]. At the moment she looks the best three-year-old filly around. I don’t know what the plan is but I’d say the Oaks is an option for her.”
Godolphin’s Appleby did not go home empty-handed as Modern News emerged as an exciting winner of the EBF Stallions Maiden Stakes, the opening race at the final day of the four-day 2020 Guineas Festival run behind closed doors.
