Setback rules leading fancy Powerful Breeze out of 1,000 Guineas

Hugo Palmer has been dealt an early blow before the Flat turf season even begins, with his leading Qipco 1,000 Guineas chance Powerful Breeze ruled out for the first half of the campaign.

A daughter of Iffraaj who cost 50,000gns as a yearling, Powerful Breeze went from winning a Newmarket novice last August to the Group 2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster, where she was again successful.

That performance prompted connections to supplement her for the Group 1 Fillies' Mile at Newmarket, where she was narrowly defeated by Quadrilateral.

A rematch will now have to wait until the second half of the season at the earliest, as Palmer said on Tuesday: "Powerful Breeze has met with a setback and will not now be able to run in the 1,000 Guineas. It's very disappointing for all concerned but hopefully she'll be back in the second half of the season."

Prior to the injury news, Powerful Breeze was second-favourite for the fillies' Classic at 8-1, with only Quadrilateral (5-1) ahead of her in the market.

Quadrilateral also heads the lists for the Investec Oaks after the daughter of Frankel, who is trained by Roger Charlton, enjoyed a perfect campaign as a juvenile.

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