Jim Bolger says Dawn Approach is equal to the best horses he has ever trained ahead of the colt’s bid for Classic glory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday week.
A son of Bolger’s 2008 Epsom Derby winner New Approach, the strapping chestnut was unbeaten in six starts as a juvenile.
Snapped up by Godolphin after winning the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, Dawn Approach went on to claim Group One honours in the National Stakes at the Curragh and the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, ensuring his place as winter favourite for the first Classic of the 2013 season.
He is as short as even money to get the job done on the Rowley Mile on May 4.
Dawn Approach worked over seven furlongs (1400m) on Monday morning in company with stable companion Light Heavy, after which Bolger spoke with the invited press.
“He’s a very clear-winded horse and his only downside is that he’s lazy,” Bolger said.
“He hasn’t grown over the winter, but he is a big horse. He’s 16.1 (hands) and he’s about eight kilos heavier now than he was at Newmarket for the Dewhurst, but we’ll probably give back two of those before the Guineas.
“We’ve had no setbacks or hold-ups with him at all.”
Bolger admits that while he ideally would have liked to run Dawn Approach before the Guineas, he felt conditions at home were too testing and decided against running in one of the British trials.
Given Dawn Approach’s outstanding juvenile form, there could always be a chance that some of his counterparts are open to more progress but Bolger is unconcerned.
“He’s on a par with the best horses I’ve had, but I won’t know for certain until he runs because he’s so laid-back,” he said.”
