Newmarket QIPCO Guineas Festival 2023: O’Brien Unleashes Auguste Rodin

The flat racing season steps up a notch this weekend, with the prestigious Guineas Festival scheduled to take place at Newmarket.

There are a plethora of top-class races scheduled during the three-day meeting, all of which will attract plenty of interest in betting circles.

Each of the top horse racing betting sites have published ante-post markets for the main events, highlighting the popularity of the Festival.

We’ve scored the entries to come up with three horses we think are well worth following this weekend, starting with one that has been touted as a potential superstar.

Top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien is renowned for waxing lyrical about his horses, often to the point of over-hyping them.

He recently touted as Auguste Rodin as a potential Triple Crown winner and the bookmakers think he will take the first step along the road to achieving that feat this weekend.

Auguste Rodin rounded off last season with a hugely impressive victory in the Group 1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster to jump to the head of the 2000 Guineas betting.

He is priced at odds of 13/8 with BetUK to win this weekend and it will take an exceptionally good horse to lower his colours.

If he does emerge victorious, it will be intriguing to see if can go on to win The Derby and St Leger over the coming months.

The 10-furlong Newmarket Stakes on the opening day generally produces some useful form pointers for the rest of the season.

Last year’s winner Nations Pride went on to run in the Epsom Derby, before winning top class events in North America later in the year.

His trainer Charlie Appleby has two fancied runners this time around, with Victory Dance and Castle Ways both declared to run.

However, the value bet could be the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Circle of Fire, who can be backed at around 6/1 on the top UK betting apps.

Owned by HM The King & HM The Queen Consort, the horse will be expected to run a big race on Coronation Weekend.

With The Moonlight was one of the standout performers at this meeting last year, romping to a wide margin victory in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

She subsequently ran a stinker in the Epsom Oaks, but bounced back to form with one win and two second places at Belmont and Saratoga.

The four-year-old started this year with two victories in Dubai, before running a gallant race in defeat in the Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland.

With The Moonlight is the highest-rated filly in the line-up for the Dahlia Stakes and will take some stopping this weekend.

The daughter of Frankel should shine over this nine-furlong trip and she is expected to attract plenty of interest in the betting market for this race.