schema:articleBody
| - Poetic Flare battled to a thrilling victory in the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday, edging out Master Of The Seas by a short head. Ridden by Kevin Manning for 79-year-old trainer Jim Bolger, emulated his sire Dawn Approach, who won the season-opening Classic in 2013. Poetic Flare, a 16/1 shot, powered into the lead late in the one-mile race and just held off Master Of The Seas, with Lucky Vega a fast-finishing third. "I thought I would win but not that it would be that close," Manning, who is Irishman Bolger's son-in-law, told ITV. "Done nothing wrong this horse, really fancied him. He is a tough horse. Not sure how far he would get. Very important winning these races. They are hard to come by." It was Bolger's 11th British and Irish Classic triumph and the eighth for Manning, with the duo also having teamed up for Dawn Approach's success. Aidan O'Brien, who had trained the winner in four of the previous six years, saw his three runners all struggle, with 9/2 favourite Battleground crossing the line in 13th under Frankie Dettori. "That horse didn't handle the (good to firm) ground," Dettori said. The Rowley Mile also hosts the fillies' 1000 Guineas on Sunday, with O'Brien's Santa Barbara a strong favourite. jc/nr
|