Threat to miss 2,000 Guineas as Hannon eyes St James's Palace Stakes

Richard Hannon has resisted the temptation of going to the Qipco 2,000 Guineas with Threat and will instead wait for the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, with that track expected to suit better than the undulations of Newmarket.

Threat was a top-class juvenile last term, winning the Gimcrack and Champagne Stakes, and was a 14-1 shot to hand Richard Hannon a second victory in the 2,000 Guineas, six years after Night Of Thunder. He also finished runner-up to Arizona in the Coventry.

But Hannon thinks Ascot is a better fit for Threat and will now gear him up for a crack at the St James’s Palace Stakes.

WATCH: Threat wins the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster last season

Hannon said: "We've decided to give the 2,000 Guineas a swerve and instead aim him at the St James's Palace Stakes. I think the flatter track there over a mile will suit him better than Newmarket would have.

"I've always loved this horse. I was gutted when he was beaten in the Coventry but things just didn't go the way we'd hoped that day and in fairness he was beaten by a very good horse in Arizona. He bounced back to win the Gimcrack-Champagne Stakes double, which I don't think had ever been done by a juvenile before. He's a star."

Hannon will instead take on Pinatubo with Mums Tipple, the 11-length winner of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes at York last August.

Setback rules Daahyeh out of 1,000 Guineas

Daahyeh, a general 14-1 shot for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas, has been ruled out of next Sunday's Classic by trainer Roger Varian.

Winner of the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket last season, Daahyeh signed off a productive two-year-old campaign that also included success at Royal Ascot with a second at the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita in November.

"She had a setback earlier in the year and is not in contention for the Guineas," said Varian on Sunday. "She's been out of action for a good while and I hope she could be back racing from mid-July onward."

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