Guinea (coin)

The guinea is a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1814. It was the first English machine-struck gold coin, originally worth one pound sterling, equal to twenty shillings, but rises in the price of gold relative to silver caused the value of the guinea to increase, at times to as high as thirty shillings. From 1717 to 1816, its value was officially fixed at twenty-one shillings. Then, Great Britain adopted the gold standard and guinea became a colloquial or specialised term.

The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, where much of the gold used to make the coins originated. Although no longer circulated, the term guinea survives in some circles, notably horse racing, and in the sale of rams to mean an amount of one pound and one shilling (21 shillings) or one pound and five pence in decimalised currency. The name also forms the basis for the Arabic word for the Egyptian pound الجنيه el-Genēh / el-Geni, as a sum of 100 qirsh (one pound) was worth approximately 21 shillings at the end of the 19th century.

2002 1000 Guineas

The 2002 1000 Guineas Stakes was a horse race held at Newmarket Racecourse on Sunday 5 May 2002. It was the 189th running of the 1000 Guineas.

The winner was Godolphin's Kazzia, a German-bred brown filly trained at Newmarket, Suffolk by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Frankie Dettori. Kazzia's victory was the second in the race for her owner, trainer and jockey after the success of Cape Verdi in 1998. Godolphin's leader Sheikh Mohammed had previously won the race with Oh So Sharp in 1985 and Musical Bliss in 1989. Kazzia was the first German-bred horse to win a British Classic.

The contenders

The race attracted a field of seventeen runners, thirteen trained in the United Kingdom and four in Ireland: there were no challengers from continental Europe. The favourite was the Luca Cumani-trained Gossamer who had won the Prestige Stakes and the Fillies' Mile in 2001. The four Irish challengers, all trained by Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle were Quarter Moon, winner of the Moyglare Stud Stakes, Lahinch, the winner of the Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes and the maiden race winners Maryinsky and Pietra Dura. The Godolphin stable was represented by Kazzia, who had not raced since winning the Premio Dormello at Milan in October 2001. Apart from Gossamer, the best of the British-trained runners appeared to be the Nell Gwyn Stakes winner Misterah, the Prix Marcel Boussac winner Sulk and the Michael Stoute-trained Alasha. A notable absentee was Queen's Logic who had been favourite for the race before sustaining an injury. Gossamer headed the betting at odds of 11/8 ahead of Alasha (6/1), Misterah (7/1), Maryinsky (8/1) and Quarter Moon (9/1).

2009 1000 Guineas

The 2009 1000 Guineas Stakes was a horse race held at Newmarket Racecourse on Sunday 3 May 2009. It was the 196th running of the 1000 Guineas.

The winner was Hamdan Al Maktoum's Ghanaati, an American-bred bay filly trained at Lambourn by Barry Hills and ridden by her trainer's son Richard Hills. Hamdan Al Maktoum was winning the race for the fifth time after Salsabil (1990), Shadayid (1991), Harayir (1995) and Lahan (2000), the last two of whom were ridden by Richard Hills. Barry Hills, who retired shortly after the race, had trained Enstone Spark to win the classic in 1978. Ghanaati's win was achieved in race record time.

The contenders

The race attracted a field of fourteen runners, ten trained in the United Kingdom and four in Ireland: there were no challengers from continental Europe. The odds-on favourite was the John Gosden-trained Rainbow View an undefeated, American-bred filly who was making her seasonal debut after winning the Sweet Solera Stakes, May Hill Stakes and the Fillies' Mile in 2008. Her most dangerous challenger appeared to be Cheveley Park Stakes winner Serious Attitude whilst the most-fancied of the other British-trained fillies Lahaleeb Lahaleeb, who had won the Rockfel Stakes and the Fred Darling Stakes. The Irish runners were Cuis Ghaire (Albany Stakes), Pursuit of Glory, Heart Shaped, the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Shimah, who had finished second to Again in the Moyglare Stud Stakes. Special Duty headed the betting at odds of 8/11 ahead of Serious Attitude (8/1) and Cuis Ghaire (12/1) with Heart Shaped and Lahaleeb on 14/1. Ghanaati, the six-length winner of a Kempton maiden race, started at 20/1.