Burke is confident Laurens is in prime condition
KARL BURKE says stable star Laurens is on track for the Qipco 1000 Guineas after pleasing connections in a racecourse gallop.
The Leyburn trainer has always stated that the John Danceowned filly would head straight to Newmarket on May 6 without a prep race.
A winner of Doncaster’s May Hill Stakes at the St Leger meeting, she then won Newmarket’s Group One Fillies’ Mile under jockey PJ McDonald.
Burke was content after watching Laurens being put through her paces at Newcastle.
“We were very happy,” he said. “PJ rode her, she worked over seven furlongs and worked very nicely.
“It wasn’t anything overly serious, but it was a nice day out for her and a change of scenery.
“She had a nice, healthy blow and hopefully that will more or less put her spot on now,” he added. “She won’t be going away again now, she’s done plenty.
“She’s looked fantastic all winter to be fair, most of ours have, and I couldn’t be happier with the way she looks. She’s had a good coat on her, I’m not sure she was even clipped this winter.
“We won’t mind a little bit of cut in the ground and there is some rain forecast again next week – good ground would be perfect. She certainly wouldn’t want it firm, but it’s unlikely to be that.”
Meanwhile, two of Malton dual purpose trainer Brian Ellison’s stable stalwarts, Dream Walker and Top Notch Tonto, have moved to Ireland to be trained by Jarlath Fahey.
Dream Walker has enjoyed his two most lucrative victories to date in Ireland, landing the “Ahonoora” Handicap at the Galway Festival in each of the last two years.
Top Notch Tonto, a Group Three winner in his pomp and runner-up in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in 2013, has also run well in Ireland and owner Keith Brown, from Swanland, hopes a change of scenery will reignite both horses as they enter the twilight of their careers.
He said: “Top Notch and Dream Walker both love it out in Ireland.
“They’re not getting any younger so it makes sense to see how they get on over there.
Richard Fahey’s Forest Ranger claimed a notable scalp when seeing off hot favourite Deauville to claim the Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket yesterday.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Deauville had rounded off 2017 with three consecutive appearances at Group One level, but Tony Hamilton’s mount prevailed by half a length.
Forest Ranger was listed in the official racecard as a colt, but was actually having his first run since being gelded and could be aimed at races like Sandown’s CoralEclipse as the season unfolds.
“I have no plans for him. I’m not sure what trip he wants – a mile or a mile and a quarter,” said Fahey who trains at Malton. “I’m stuck in no man’s land in my own mind at the minute. He could end up somewhere like the Eclipse, but the difficulty is I trained the sister and she didn’t stay a mile and a quarter. He didn’t stop there today. I was impressed with that. It’s a tricky one.”
Meanwhile today’s Craven Stakes at Newmarket could see further Classic clues when Oisin Murphy partners Roaring Lion, runner-up in last season’s Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster.
A leading contender for next month’s 2000 Guineas for colts, Murphy recently schooled the Qatar Racing-owned horse at John Gosden’s stables and said: “I sat on him last week and he seems like he’s done well from two to three. He’s in good order, he’s fit and well and I’m really looking forward to him.”
York Racecourse has announced that total prize money this season will be a record £8m – a £500,000 increase on last year. NIGEL HAWKE insists he has no regrets about selling Randox Health Grand National winner Tiger Roll five years ago.
Hawke, who won the National aboard Seagram in 1991, paid just £10,000 for the son of Epsom Derby winner Authorized at Doncaster Sales in the summer of 2013.
He saddled him to win his first-ever race, a juvenile hurdle at Market Rasen, in November of that year.
The Devon-based trainer made a significant profit on his investment when Tiger Roll went under the hammer for £80,000 at the Brightwells Cheltenham Sale the following month, with Mags O’Toole the successful bidder on behalf of Gigginstown House Stud who sent him to Gordon Elliott to train.
Hawke said: “I obviously watched the race on Saturday and there was nobody cheering louder than me. I remember when we sold him I told Gigginstown I felt he could be a Cheltenham horse, either for the Fred Winter or the Triumph Hurdle and he obviously went on to win the Triumph.
“I won’t pretend I thought he might win a cross country and a Grand National, but as I was saying to someone the other day, this horse always had a jump in him. I remember after we bought him there was talk of running him in a three-year-old bumper, but he was such a natural from the day we started schooling him that we said we’d go straight over hurdles. At least I can say I found a Grand National winner and the money we made from Tiger Roll helped us buy other horses like Speredek.”