O'Brien: Ten Sovereigns will be primed for Guineas clash with Too Darn Hot

Aidan O'Brien believes Ten Sovereigns will have no problem staying a mile after doing well physically through the winter – meaning a showdown with Too Darn Hot in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas is on the cards.

Unlike the dazzling Dewhurst winner, who is set to reappear in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury on Saturday, Ten Sovereigns will head straight to Newmarket without a prep.

That is a tried-and-tested approach from O’Brien, whose nine previous winners of the 2,000 Guineas have all done likewise.

The unbeaten son of No Nay Never, who is 8-1 second favourite behind Too Darn Hot for the first Classic of the season, has never raced beyond six furlongs, with all three of his wins as a juvenile coming over that trip.

However, O’Brien is convinced a mile is within his compass and said on Monday: "Physically, Ten Sovereigns has done very well over the winter and we couldn’t be any happier with him. He's a very relaxed horse and has a high cruising speed.

"There's nothing that would suggest to me he wouldn’t get a mile. He'll go straight to Newmarket."

He added: “We've decided to skip the Greenham with all of ours as there's not much point taking on Too Darn Hot when we don’t have something ready for him. To go over there and take on Too Darn Hot, you'd need something very forward and we don’t have it.”

Ten Sovereigns (purple) lands the Middle Park StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

The first week of May is when his army will start to fire according to the man himself.

“At the moment we think we have the ammunition," said O'Brien. "We're hoping we're on the right track. The first weekend in May is the time we hope to have them in good order.

“Last year the horses weren't able to acclimatise as there was snow early in the year and then it got very warm during the summer. Our grass gallop went from heavy to hard in the blink of an eye.

"Last year our horses were not once able to gallop on grass from January to December. It was unbelievable; I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime.

"This year we've done a lot of grass work already. They've been on grass since the end of January. Maybe we might see a bit more from the three-year-olds this year, seeing they've been on the grass.”

O’Brien is seeking a seventh Investec Derby success this year and there could be more to come from Mount Everest, a 25-1 shot for the Epsom Classic.

Japan, the shortest-priced Ballydoyle colt in the ante-post market at around 10-1, is likewise reported in good nick.

“Mount Everest is a beautiful moving horse," said his trainer. "He's done extremely well physically over the last few months. I'm very happy with him.

"Japan has done very well physically too, while I was very pleased with what Broome did at Leopardstown, and Anthony Van Dyck is another Derby horse and will run in a trial first."

He continued: "The likes of Circus Maximus could go to a Guineas instead of a Derby trial. There are a couple of Derby horses we could let run in the Guineas.

“I like Chester as a Derby trial for our horses. There's a lot of atmosphere there and the horses are always turning too. They don’t seem to have very hard races there either."

Mount Everest and Donnacha O'Brien on the way to winning their maiden at the CurraghCredit: Patrick McCann

While Godolphin's Blue Point looks the one to beat in the sprinting division this year, O'Brien rates Sergei Prokofiev very highly.

“Sergei is a very fast horse, as fast a horse as I've ever had," he said. "He was a three-year-old running against older horses with a penalty at Navan the week before last and won.

"It's the way he comes through his races; he's very fast and is a five-furlong horse, not six."

Of his older horses, Capri has the Gold Cup as his ultimate aim this season, while St Leger winner Kew Gardens will begin over a mile and a half.

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