Bookmakers were in the dark last night over the likely participation or otherwise of the unbeaten Teofilo in the Stan James 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 5th.
The Jim Bolger-trained colt drifted markedly on the betting exchanges, having started the day as the red-hot favourite, forcing the leading firms, including the sponsors, to suspend their ante-post markets.
Bolger could not be contacted by PA Sport, and Neil Morrice, media and on-course representative for Stan James, said: "We are completely in the dark.
"We remain suspended in the belief that something must be amiss with Teofilo."
Ben Clarke of William Hill said: "We started seeing money for a lot of horses prominent in the market with the exception of Teofilo, and with the rumours going around, we decided to suspend the market until the situation becomes clearer.
"As soon as we are aware whether or not there is a problem with Teofilo we will reopen the betting."
Totesport also decided to leave their market suspended overnight, with spokesman Damian Walker explaining: "We are still suspended and we will be overnight as these things tend to lead to something.
"It is very rare for something like this to happen and for the horse to turn up in the race would be a surprise."
Ladbrokes, however, opted to re-open betting on the Guineas and Derby shortly before 6pm.
Spokesman David Williams said: "We suspended both markets as a precautionary measure, but haven't found anything to substantiate the rumours about Teofilo.
"We're now back up and as far as we're concerned, it's business as usual."
Teofilo remains unchanged for both races with Ladbrokes and trades as the 5 to 4 favourite for the Guineas and as the 5 to 2 market leader for the Derby.
n Jamie Spencer moved two ahead of Neil Callan in the race for the jockeys' championship with a stylish double on Windsor's opening card of the season.
The 2005 title winner was level with Callan on 10 at the start of the day, but with his rival drawing a blank at Wolverhampton and current holder Ryan Moore likely to be out injured for another month, Spencer opened a clear gap.
Both winners were trained by Ed Dunlop and landed the odds in taking fashion, notably King Of Argos (4 to 1 joint-favourite), who was more designer boutique than high-street catalogue store in the Coral Backing NSPCC Handicap.
Given the ice-cool treatment by Spencer, he sat well behind the frenetic pace set by Musical Note before slipping through the field in the home straight.
The three-and-a-half-length distance did not really do justice to the manner of his victory as he cantered away in a fast time.
Robin Trevor-Jones, Dunlop's travelling head lad, said: "That was rather impressive. They went a million miles per hour early on, which suited us as we had a bad draw. We'll play it by ear now, but he might have a nice race in him."
Kevin Ghunowa, aboard runner-up Pure Imagination, was given a one-day ban (April 27th) for careless riding after manoeuvring left-handed when not sufficiently clear.
The Gainsborough-owned Fort Amhurst later justified 5 to 2 favouritism in the Arena Maiden.
