KINGCANRULEATYORK
BURGUILLOS has an awful lot going for him in the Peter “Sooty” Sutton Memorial Handicap.
Alan King is more renowned as a National Hunt trainer but has had a decent spell on the Flat this summer and can make more headway on the Knavesmire.
Burguillos’s last appearance came at York during the Dante Festival when he was sent off at odds of 3-1 in a mile-and-a-half handicap on soft ground.
The four-year-old chestnut did not win on a surface that would not really have been up his ally, yet he still did well to stick to the task to finish second.
Though that was a creditable run it is interesting King has decided to revert to a mile and a quarter with him.
Burguillos did some serious damage over that trip at Leicester on May 9 when he charged gamely clear of Wapping who won at Brighton earlier in the week and is now on a hat-trick. King’s inmate is a great deal higher in the weights but is clearly still in fine fettle and should enjoy himself on the faster ground and over a shorter distance.
Pastoral Player loves it at Goodwood and can be trusted to run with honour in the sevenfurlong apprentice handicap back at the West Sussex circuit.
It should also pay to throw a few bob in the direction of Halawain who was a good third at Pontefract since having been gelded and might well thrive over a longer trip in the seven-furlong handicap at Sandown.
■ Leopardstown will host a new two-day festival featuring the BHP Irish Champion Hurdle and Stan James Irish Gold Cup in 2018.
Horse Racing Ireland has approved the plan to consolidate Leopardstown’s three current stand-alone meetings in late January and mid-February into one two-day meeting on February 3 and 4.
The Irish Champion Hurdle will headline the Saturday card with the Irish Gold Cup taking centre stage on the Sunday, with seven Grade Ones and three Grade Twos run over the two days.
HRI boss Brian Kavanagh said: The HRI Board has agreed to enhance its prize-money commitment to the weekend to reflect the increased sponsorship and racecourse contribution.
“HRI believes the new festival will be very popular as it fits nicely between Christmas and Cheltenham and will offer perfect opportunities for the top horses not just from Ireland but Britain as well.”