French Fifteen most at home on soft ground in 2,000 Guineas

The growing likelihood of soft ground at Newmarket could result in a shake-up of the 2,000 Guineas odds and French Fifteen may be the horse that is currently overpriced at 10/1.

Camelot remains the 1/1 favourite to take the opening Classic of the season, despite the concerns raised by jockey Joseph O’Brien that there are questions marks over the ground and that the horse would ideally prefer a firmer surface.

In fact, many of the runners enter with similar unknowns, with only a handful of entrants having previously won on soft ground.

Of these, it is just French Fifteen that has not only won on soft, but also claimed victory over the Guineas distance of 1m.

This success came in France in his final start as a two-year-old last season and he has since triumphed again over 7f last month, when defeating fellow 2,000 Guineas fancies Abtaal and Hermival.

It is slightly hard to gauge how the French form will translate to Newmarket, but the horse must certainly have strong each-way claims on a surface where he has the most proven form.

Power is the other runner with a Group One success under his belt on soft ground, while this victory also ensures that he has run to the highest official rating of all of the contenders in the Newmarket field.

The only doubt over Power is that he did not necessarily look like a Guineas winner in the making when second on his last start in the Dewhurst in October.

However, 12/1 still represents good each-way value, especially with the horse from a yard as strong as that of Aiden O’Brien and with a jockey of the calibre of Ryan Moore on board.