It is “all systems go” in Alyanaabi’s 2000 Guineas bid after pleasing trainer Owen Burrows in a racecourse gallop at Newmarket.

The Too Darn Hot colt won on his debut at Salisbury last June and followed up that run when finishing fourth of 10 in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot.

On the latter occasion he was beaten by a subsequent Group One scorer in Richard Hannon’s Rosallion and, after winning the Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket, he then crossed paths with perhaps the highest-regarded horse in training in City Of Troy.

The meeting was in the Dewhurst Stakes, widely considered to be an early Classic trial, and although City Of Troy’s significant reputation was not dented, Alyanaabi still impressed when coming home as runner-up behind him.

Aidan O’Brien’s colt is the clear favourite for the Qipco-sponsored Guineas after an exemplary two-year-old campaign, with Alyanaabi headed for the same race after working well in a racecourse gallop ahead of the Craven meeting.

“He came out of that fine, he did a bit of work on Saturday as the ground was beautiful at home last weekend,” said Burrows.

“We’re getting a drop of rain again but nothing too measurable and I think he appreciated the nice ground on Saturday.

“He’s in good form and, touch wood, it’s all systems go now.”

Whilst the Shadwell owned and bred Alyanaabi will hold out for the Guineas, other contenders have contested a trial beforehand and added more context to his juvenile form.

One such horse is Hannon’s Haatem, fifth in the Dewhurst and then the clear winner of the Craven Stakes at Newmarket last week.

Reflecting on the outcome of the trials, Burrows said: “Richard Hannon’s horse won well at Newmarket, he was behind us in the Dewhurst but it’s a new year.

“I shouldn’t think Aidan has lost too much sleep, we’ve all got City Of Troy to beat if he turns up in the same form he was in as a two-year-old.

“We’ve all got to take him on, but you can’t run from one horse.”

Hukum has been retired and will join Darley’s stallion roster at Hokkaido in Japan.

Trained expertly by Owen Burrows, the six-year-old is a full-brother to the brilliant Baaeed, also owned by Shadwell.

The winner of 11 of his 18 races, he won twice at Group One level. Having beaten Pyledriver by over four lengths in the 2022 Coronation Cup, he looked set for a stellar season but unfortunately suffered a career-threatening injury.

Nursed back to health by the Shadwell team and Burrows, he beat last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes before claiming victory in a thrilling King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes over Westover.

Burrows said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to train Hukum over the last four seasons.

“I will forever be in his debt as he has brought my career to a whole new level. His enthusiasm for work and racing made my job easy.

“His win in the Coronation Cup by over four lengths and King George win this year showed off all his fine attributes perfectly. Class, guts and will to win. That race will live long in, not just mine, but many racing fans’ memory for years to come.

“A superb looking and athletic individual, a full-brother to Baaeed, whom I’m sure will be very popular with breeders in Japan.”

Stephen Collins, Shadwell’s European Bloodstock Manager, told www.shadwellstud.com: “Shadwell are delighted that Hukum, a full-brother to Baaeed, the highest-rated turf horse in the last decade, will stand at Darley Japan.

“Hukum has all the attributes to be a hugely successful stallion. A top-class racehorse, possessing a wonderful physique, he hails from one of Shadwell’s most successful families tracing back to the highly influential broodmare Height Of Fashion.

“We are thrilled that Japanese breeders will be able to avail of such a wonderful bloodline that his late HH Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and his family have developed and maintained at the highest level over the last 40 years.

“Sheikha Hissa and her family very much look forward to following Hukum’s new career very closely and it wouldn’t surprise me if Shadwell were to support him with some high-quality broodmares going forward as he is held in the highest regard by us all.”

Owen Burrows is confident Alyanaabi can make his presence felt in the Native Trail’s Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.

A winner on his Salisbury debut in June, the son of Too Darn Hot then finished fourth behind subsequent Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Rosallion in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot.

Alyanaabi got back on the winning trail in the Group Three Tattersalls Stakes over the Dewhurst course and distance late last month- and while Aidan O’Brien’s unbeaten 2000 Guineas favourite City Of Troy is expected to prove hard to beat this weekend, Burrows is hopeful his colt will put up a bold showing.

“To have the third favourite in the Dewhurst is massively exciting and this is what it is all about,” said the Lambourn handler.

“He would have been a slightly unlucky loser last time out in the Group Three, but he just managed to put his head down in time.

“He is a horse we really like, and it will be interesting to see how he fares on Saturday. As you well know, it is always a bonus when they have acted on the track.

“We left France a couple of weekends ago disappointed after Hukum’s defeat in the Arc and it would be an amazing end to the season if we could come away with a Dewhurst winner.”

While Alyanaabi was not disgraced in being beaten just under five lengths by Rosallion at the end of July, Burrows is adamant his star juvenile is better than he showed on that occasion.

He added: “In the Listed race at Ascot we felt he ran tidy enough, but that wasn’t his proper running. He got a little bit shut up in behind and didn’t get out, but when he did get out he didn’t show the speed he does at home.

“Jim (Crowley) felt the slightly softer ground didn’t play to his strengths, so it was good once we got him on faster ground last time to see him show the speed we had seen at home.

“That Ascot race has turned out to be pretty smart as the winner Rosallion has won the Group One in France, the runner up Al Musmak has won a Listed race and was second in the Royal Lodge, and Dancing Gemini, who finished fifth, has also won a Listed race at Doncaster.

“Even though he got beat at Ascot it was still a good race and the form is stacking up well.”

Burrows hopes Alyanaabi can on Saturday prove himself a legitimate candidate for the 2000 Guineas back on the Rowley Mile next spring.

“He is a Group Three winner now and hopefully that is not the end of it,” he said.

“He is a lovely big scopey horse and it looks like he will get a mile all day long.

“We are all dreaming that he will hopefully be a Guineas horse next year.”

Owen Burrows considers Hukum’s light campaign to be a help and not a hindrance ahead of his bid for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Shadwell-owned colt has been seen just twice this year, winning the Brigadier Gerard Stakes after almost a year off the track when making his seasonal debut in May.

He defeated Derby hero Desert Crown on that occasion and subsequently side-stepped Royal Ascot as the ground was unsuitably quick.

That left the horse off the track for 65 days when he lined up for a hugely-competitive renewal of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but the absence did nothing to stop him edging out Ralph Beckett’s Westover by a head in thrilling finish.

There will be gap of a similar length between that performance and Sunday’s race and with the bay proven to go well fresh, Burrows has few concerns about his sparse season.

He said: “I’m more than happy to bring him in off the back of his King George win, he’s proven as he won first time in Dubai last year on Super Saturday.

“He won the Brigadier Gerard and then we weren’t able to run at Royal Ascot as the ground was a bit quick, so he went to the King George after a bit of a break.

“He’s obviously a horse who runs well fresh and we’re confident we can get him there in a good spot.”

Burrows has been satisfied with Hukum’s work since he was last seen on track, and is especially pleased with how he seems to be thriving at six after a serious injury robbed him of a year of racing following his 2022 Coronation Cup victory.

“We’ve been very pleased with him, obviously that (the King George) was at the end of July so he’s had a nice easy couple of weeks after that,” the trainer said.

“We’ve had a nice amount of time to slowly bring him up for this very important race now.

“I think it’s pretty obvious to see with his form this year that he is better than ever, it looked last season like he was on the up when he won the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

“Unfortunately he picked up his injury there, which stopped his season, but from an early stage this year when we started working him again, he showed all his old enthusiasm and his work was better than ever.

“For whatever reason he looks as though he’s found a bit from somewhere this year, he was able to win the Brigadier Gerard over a mile and a quarter. He certainly is as as good as ever.”

Owen Burrows is considering options at home and abroad for Alflaila after taking plenty of positives from his performance in last weekend’s Irish Champion Stakes.

The four-year-old was a 7-1 chance for the Group One feature at Leopardstown, his second run of the season after returning from a lay-off to land the Group Two York Stakes in July.

But with a slow start putting the Shadwell-owned colt on the back foot from flag-fall, Alflaila was last of all turning for home before making significant inroads on the leaders to finish fifth, in the end beaten just over three lengths by the winner Auguste Rodin.

While disappointed the race did not go as planned, Burrows was not discouraged by the performance and is hoping for strong end to his campaign.

“He’s grand, he’s come out of Ireland well. It just didn’t really go to plan as such but he seems fine,” the trainer said.

“It wasn’t quite the plan to be that far back, but he can jump a bit slow and round there it was always going to be difficult if he did that.

“Considering he was 10 or 12 lengths down turning in and he got beaten by just over three, I think that’s still a pretty promising performance for his first time in the Group One.

“On a different track and a different day I don’t think he’s going to be too far off, so there were plenty of positives to take from it.”

On future plans, Burrows added: “We’re just weighing up our options as to where we go next now.

“That was only his second run this year, he’s in the Champion Stakes, he’s in the Prix Dollar on the Saturday of the Arc weekend which possibly, with the way French races run, might not suit him.

“Then he might be on his travels again though the winter. He’s only had two runs so he can have a busy end to the year.”

Miaharris came from the clouds to maintain her unbeaten record in dramatic fashion with victory in the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury.

An impressive winner at Sandown on her debut, Owen Burrows stepped the daughter of Zoustar up in grade on just her second outing against other fillies with more experience.

It looked like being a step too far at halfway, however, as she was one of the first off the bridle and looked to be up against it.

It was Alice Haynes’ Majestic Beauty – the only other unbeaten runner in the field – who was at the head of affairs heading into the final furlong, and she still looked to have plenty left.

Henry Candy’s Tears Of A Clown then emerged as a real danger and the two began to pull clear, with Juniper Berries running on.

By now Miaharris (9-4 favourite) was beginning to hit top gear and while she still had two lengths to find on the leaders, once in the clear Oisin Murphy got her to lengthen and she picked up in the style of a smart filly, winning by a neck from Majestic Beauty.

Burrows said: “She’s done well to win from where she was at halfway. She put up a nice performance at Sandown, but we knew it was a bit of a punt stepping up straight to Listed class and inexperience looked like it was going to go against us halfway through the race.

“The encouraging thing was once she got some room she hit the line strong. She has got that touch of class and she is still a work in progress, but she’s probably a smart filly.

“The nice thing is she hit the line strong and relaxed early so it looks like now she is up in grade, she needs to be going up a furlong in trip as well.

“There’s the Dick Poole (Salisbury, September 7) and there is also the Firth of Clyde at Ayr (September 23) which is also six furlongs. Timing-wise the Dick Poole would be nice, but we will see how she is when we get back and through next week.

“It’s obviously encouraging heading into the autumn that she has handled that ground there today, it gives us plenty of options.”

Miaharris cost 210,000 guineas as a breeze-up buy in the spring and Burrows was delighted to reward the patience of owner Olly Harris who has allowed the Farncombe Down handler to take his time with the talented youngster and may now have a Group-class operator on his hands.

But Burrows did sound a note of warning around the potential pitfalls of affordability checks, with Harris one of a number of high-profile owners reportedly considering his future in the sport.

“It’s great for Olly who has been a good supporter of mine last year when we were beginning to take outside horses,” added Burrows.

“He’s backed me again this year and this filly wasn’t cheap at the sales, so fair play to him and I’m chuffed because we were a little bit quiet in the first part of the season for him but he’s been very patient and a great owner to have because he just lets me get on with it.

“It’s obviously a bit worrying what we read the other day. He’s someone who likes a bet on his horses and is being restricted and from my point of view he’s not going to buy any new ones. It’s a prime example of what these affordability checks could do.

“Olly is on holiday with his family at the moment, but he has a group of mates who don’t just like going to have a day at the races to have a bit of lunch, they like to have a bet as well. Some bets will be bigger than others, but that is part of the enjoyment for them and if part of that enjoyment is taken away what is the point of having any more horses.

“From my point of view, it’s a big worry because we have four for him at the moment and at the end of the year two of those will probably be going to the sales. The two two-year-olds will stay, but he’s not reinvesting and that’s the worry for all of us.

“I’m certainly not in the position to be losing owners like him and the game itself isn’t in the position to be losing people like him. That’s not just on the Flat because he spends really good money over jumps as well, so it won’t be just me with a few empty boxes, it will be other trainers as well.”

Miaharris is looking to build on an impressive debut success when she steps up to Listed company for Owen Burrows in the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury on Friday.

Having cost €60,000 as a yearling, her sales price rose sharply after an impressive breeze and was purchased for 210,000 guineas by Ted Durcan on behalf of owner Olly Harris.

The Zoustar filly could not have made a much more impressive start to life than the one she had at Sandown, winning by over three lengths, but Burrows is well aware this will be a much tougher ask.

“It was a very professional performance at Sandown, but obviously we are jumping up a little bit,” he said.

“We felt she put in such a nice performance that we weren’t afraid to try it. She obviously lacks experience but she’s a breeze-up filly so she does have that under her belt as such, so we’re looking forward to running her.

“She wasn’t stopping at Sandown so she could step up to six furlongs at some stage, but I just felt that timing-wise this was a nice race. The nice thing is I’m sure she will get six, so that obviously gives you more options whether this year or next year.

“We’ll see how she gets on in this and make a bit of a plan after that.”

The only other unbeaten filly in the race is the Alice Haynes-trained Majestic Beauty, who won at Catterick in May and returned following 88 days off to win at Hamilton last week.

“She’s obviously come out of the race last week well and it was a nice performance up there under a penalty,” said Tom Pennington, racing manager for owners Amo Racing.

“She’s a tough, straightforward filly and that is why we are going to Newbury, in the hope that she can pick up some black type.

“She had a break after her debut but it was just to give her time – we were in no real rush with her, just to help her mature and develop and it paid off at Musselburgh. Hopefully our patience will be rewarded with some black type.

“It is a quick five furlongs at Musselburgh, but I think she’d get six in time.”

Other notable runners include Eve Johnson Houghton’s Juniper Berries, William Haggas’ Indispensable and the Karl Burke-trained duo of Lady Pink Rose and Dorothy Lawrence.

Owen Burrows feels he has a lot to thank Hukum for as he prepares to send his King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes champion straight to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The six-year-old has won 11 of his 17 career starts and it was somewhat fitting that having provided the Lambourn-based handler with both his first Royal Ascot and Group One winner, Hukum was front and centre once again as Burrows enjoyed his finest hour in the training ranks.

Having downed last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown on his comeback from a career-threatening injury sustained when winning the 2022 Coronation Cup, Baaeed’s brother was at the peak of his powers in the hands of Jim Crowley in Ascot’s midsummer showpiece to tee up a trip to Paris on the first Sunday in October.

As short as 6-1 for the Arc, Burrows is determined to enjoy Hukum while he can as he begins to dream of victory in Europe’s richest middle-distance contest.

He said: “I owe him a lot. He’s been around for a while, he was my first Royal Ascot winner and my first Group One winner.

“We travelled him to Dubai after the sad passing of Sheikh Hamdan and that was a big thing for him to win over there on Super Saturday as well.

“He’s been a tremendous horse in my career and he’ll be very hard to replace, but we’ll enjoy him while we can.”

He went on: “He’s all well this morning. He ate up and he’s been out and had a lead out and a nice pick of grass and trotted up sound, so touch wood all good.

“The Arc is something like eight weeks today and that is the obvious plan now. The plan has always been King George in the summer and then trying to get him to France in the beginning of October and now we can start dreaming.”

All of Hukum’s victories have come on ground no quicker than good and having proven very effective with a little cut in the ground, there are plenty of positive signs ahead of Hukum’s autumn visit to the French capital for a race often run in testing conditions.

Burrows added: “He would go on faster ground and it was pretty quick in the Sheema Classic when he was only beaten a length and three-quarters.

“But he’s obviously had a hard enough race there yesterday and knowing we can get him cherry ripe following a layoff, I don’t think we need to be giving him a prep run.

“I would love to get him to the Arc and I think we would be talking about soft ground. Yesterday Jim (Crowley) felt it was a little bit dead ground, there wasn’t a lot of life in it. He handles most ground, but he obviously handles soft ground very well and we can dream.”

Hukum’s victory came just 25 minutes after another of Burrows’ Farncombe Down string, Aflaila, landed the Group Two York Stakes to give the handler a fantastic cross-card Group-race double.

He has been inundated with congratulatory messages since and admits it did take some time for the achievement to sink in.

“It’s been quite busy and I’m literally sitting down trying to work through all the messages, but it is going to take me a while,” said Burrows.

“I’ll admit yesterday I was a bit shellshocked, but now it is finally sinking in and what a day, what a great day.

“I’ve not been at it too long (training), but it was well documented this horse (Hukum) was injured at Epsom last year and to get him back to this level is a huge team effort. From the guys at Shadwell who rehabbed him, to my guys here at Farncombe, it’s a big big team effort.”

Alflaila will make his belated return from injury at York on Saturday week in the Group Two Sky Bet York Stakes.

The Shadwell-owned colt won four times from six starts as a three-year-old last term before sustaining an injury ahead of a run in Bahrain in November.

Trainer Owen Burrows feels he has had plenty of time to recuperate and thinks an outing on the Knavesmire, where he won the Strensall Stakes last August, will bring him on.

Though not having raced since defeating Ottoman Fleet in the Group Three Darley Stakes at Newmarket in October, he is entered in the Group One Juddmonte International.

Connections are keen to see if he will cope with 10 furlongs for the first time in his career, in preparation for a possible run at the top level in the August 23 contest at York.

Burrows said: “He will run in the Group Two at York on Saturday week. He was injured in Bahrain a few days before he was due to run.

“He has had his rehab back at Shadwell and touch wood it has all gone well.

“We have had plenty of time to prepare him and there was the Listed race at Newbury on Saturday or this race, and we’d have had a penalty in the Listed race, so we thought we’d have a punt and see how he fared in the Group Two.

“He won the Strensall at York, so he is a track winner and it would be nice to get him back on the track.”

Hukum, who made a winning return following a long injury lay-off in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown, heads to Ascot for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on the same day.

However, Prix d’Ispahan winner Anmaat is set to take his place on the sidelines due to a foot problem that ruled him out of the Eclipse.

“Losing good horses (through injury) is what I think they call ‘character-building’,” quipped Burrows. “With Anmaat now likely sidelined for the rest of the season, I think I’ve done enough character-building for now.

“Hukum is in good form, though. It will be a big weekend for us, that’s for sure.”

Shadwell decided not to supplement Al Asifah into Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh, with no imminent plans.

The three-year-old daughter of Frankel, trained by John and Thady Gosden, was a runaway winner of a Goodwood Listed heat in June, before finishing a lacklustre sixth to Warm Heart in the Ribblesdale Stake at Royal Ascot 11 days later.

Angus Gold, racing manager to Shadwell, said: “We have left her alone since Ascot. We will just give her a little bit of time and will bring her back gently later in the season.”

Quickening conditions are the only concern for trainer Owen Burrows ahead of Hukum’s intended appearance in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday.

The full-brother to the brilliant Baaeed bagged a Group One victory of his own in last season’s Coronation Cup at Epsom, but in doing so suffered a career-threatening injury.

He looked better than ever when defeating Derby hero Desert Crown on his return from nearly a year off the track in last month’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown – but Burrows insists no chances will be taken if the ground is deemed unsuitable on the fifth and final day of the meeting.

“It’s all been very straightforward since Sandown, so we’re just keeping our fingers crossed it doesn’t get too quick,” said Burrows.

“This was the obvious race for him, our only slight worry is the ground being a bit quick for him, so I think we’ll walk the track at midday on Saturday and make sure we’re happy with it.

“He’s won on a range of grounds, but I know speaking to Sheikha Hissa (owner) after he won at Sandown that Jim (Crowley) had mentioned to her that he’s so much better on good ground and we want to look after him this year – we won’t risk him on fast ground.

“It’s a long year and there are plenty of races for him.”

Even if he is given the go-ahead, Hukum is unlikely to have things all his own way, with several high-class rivals lying in wait.

Free Wind has won her last four races for John and Thady Gosden and saw off Wednesday’s Duke of Cambridge heroine Rogue Millennium in the Middleton Stakes at York, while the James Ferguson-trained Deauville Legend has been off the track since finishing fourth in November’s Melbourne Cup.

Pyledriver must overcome an even longer absence, having been sidelined by injury since his popular success in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes over the course and distance 11 months ago.

William Muir, who trains the six-year-old in partnership with Chris Grassick, said: “Everything has gone good up to now and we’re looking forward to getting him started.

“As I’ve said all the way through, this is hopefully a prep race for the King George. It sounds stupid, but this will put the edge on him, which is what we want.

“I’ve got no doubt his ability is all still there, I’ve got no doubt whatsoever, but he’s been off the course for a long time and we just want to get through this race and move on to the next race.

“It’s a tough place to start, but what else have we got? As long as he goes through the race nice and comes home nice we’re laughing.”

The final afternoon gets under way with the seven-furlong Chesham Stakes Stakes, in which Navan scorer Pearls And Rubies is the likely favourite for Aidan O’Brien.

The Richard Hannon-trained La Guarida appears a major contender for the Amo Racing team, having built on the promise of a debut third at Newmarket with a taking victory at Goodwood on her second start.

“She did nothing wrong at Newmarket and then backed up impressively at Goodwood,” said Amo’s racing manager Tom Pennington.

“The form is looking all right now with the second, third and fourth all winning since.”

The Amo team also have high hopes in the Group Three Jersey Stakes, with Roger Varian’s Olivia Maralda bidding to supplement victory in the Listed Surrey Stakes at Epsom.

Pennington added: “She clocked a very good time at Epsom and I think at one stage she clocked a sub 10-second furlong. I know the ground was quick there and it is the right track to be posting those sort of times, but she has come out of the race really well.

“Roger is adamant she has improved again from Epsom. She hadn’t quite come in her coat then but she has thrived since and the warm weather has helped.

“I would say seven furlongs is her optimum, Kevin (Stott, jockey) is adamant that is the case and she will go there with a big chance.”

Varian also saddles the unbeaten Enfjaar and O’Brien is represented by highly-tried The Antarctic, but the clear favourite is the rapidly-improving Covey.

The son of Frankel completed a hat-trick with a dominant front-running display in the Silver Bowl at Haydock and is strongly fancied to make it a four-timer under Frankie Dettori.

Juddmonte racing manager Barry Mahon said: “He’s a very exciting horse and we look forward to seeing him out again.

“He looks to have plenty of pace for seven furlongs and he gets a mile, so the stiff seven in Ascot should be fine for him.”

Royal Ascot’s Hardwicke Stakes is still the aim for Brigadier Gerard Stakes winner Hukum, who handed Derby winner Desert Crown his first defeat at Sandown earlier this month.

Owen Burrows was happy to report the Shadwell-owned six-year-old returned to his Lambourn yard in fine fettle after his first run for 11 months.

Hukum had three screws inserted in a hind leg after suffering an injury when winning last year’s Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Having made a remarkable recovery, under a fine ride from Jim Crowley, he produced a telling burst to collar Desert Crown and take the Group Three 10-furlong prize by half a length.

“Hukum thankfully trotted up sound the next morning all good and had a little canter on Saturday. That was the most important bit,” said Burrows.

Victory over the trip opens a few more doors for the year-older brother to the brilliant Baaeed. Hukum had won over a mile and three-quarters in the past, although he has predominately raced over a mile and a half.

Burrows added: “He is trip versatile. We are just going to be in the lap of the gods to see what sort of summer we have this year.

“He doesn’t need it soft, but he does need it safe, good ground.

“Jim has always made that point and I’m in agreement. Talking to (Shadwell owner) Sheikha Hissa the following day, she was in agreement as well.

“I’ve not got him in the Prince of Wales’s or an Eclipse, but as you know well with the British summertime, if the forecast is a bit wet, we might just have to have a conversation.”

Should ground conditions be favourable, there is the fascinating prospect of a clash with stablemate Anmaat, who won Monday’s Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp.

“We have Anmaat in both the Prince Of Wales’s and the Eclipse, so it would be a nice problem to have,” he added.

“We will be watching the weather with Hukum and I always said the Brigadier Gerard would be a prep for the Hardwicke, but if the Hardwicke turned up good to firm, we might have to wait.

“There is the Eclipse at the beginning of July and a race in France in early July over a mile and a half. There is the King George at the end of July, but we will be on a constant weather watch.”