Sagitta drops out of Guineas sponsorship

Newmarket will have to look for a new sponsor for its Guineas meeting after being told that Sagitta would not be carrying on its backing.

The 1000 and 2000 Guineas first carried the names of the financial services company in 1998, but the company formed by racehorse owners Wafic Said and Bob Michaelson has now completed the second of its three-year contracts.

Lisa Hancock, managing director of Newmarket, told the Racing Post: “We plan to meet potential companies over the next few weeks in what will be a carefully targeted campaign.

“The sponsorship is a valuable property, with all the coverage over the autumn and winter as the ante-post market on the first two Classics takes shape.

“The state of the sponsorship market presents us with quite a challenge to replace Sagitta, but we’re very optimistic of lining up a new sponsor within the next few months.”