1 May 2022

Doyle lands Guineas double as Cachet cruises home

You’ll struggle finding a happier man on the Rowley Mile than James Doyle after his astonishing QIPCO Guineas double at Newmarket. He guided Cachet to glory in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas to give young trainer, George Boughey, his first taste of Group 1 success. Boughey is in just his third year as a trainer.

There were question marks over whether Cachet would stay the Mile distance, but the Nell Gwyn winner silenced the doubters. Cachet broke smartly and surged into an early lead with James Doyle, who landed the QIPCO 2000 Guineas on Coroebus just 24 hours previous, and the filly kept on strongly inside the final two furlongs to send owners group Highclere Racing syndicate into jubilation.

James Doyle holds up the trophy with trainer George Boughey after winning The QIPCO 1000 Guineas Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)

I was praying for the line but she’s all guts

The jockey remarked: “That last half a furlong took forever and I was praying for the line but she’s all guts, loves this track and she put it to bed between the three [furlong pole] and the two”. “A special thank you goes to to George. He’s doing amazing things and he’ll be a name we’ll be hearing about in the future.”

Doyle hadn’t registered a British Classic when the QIPCO Guineas Festival started on Friday, but is leaving on Sunday with two to his name. He joins an elusive list of just five jockeys that have achieved that feat, and is the first to do so since 2015 when Ryan Moore won both Group 1s with Gleneages and Legatissimo. He follows in the footsteps of greatness of George Moore (1967), Lester Piggot (1970) and Kieren Fallon (2005) who make up the list.

The QIPCO Guineas Festival marked the start of the 2022 QIPCO British Champions Series, with the next race under the umbrella being The Paddy Power Yorkshire Cup at York.