Haatem could join esteemed stablemate Rosallion in next month’s Qipco 2000 Guineas after throwing his hat into the ring with a dominant victory in the bet365 Craven Stakes at Newmarket.

Rosallion, who won three of his four juvenile starts including the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend at ParisLongchamp, is very much Richard Hannon’s first string for the season’s first Classic on May 4, with only the unbeaten and much-vaunted City Of Troy ahead of him in ante-post lists.

Haatem himself kept good company during a busy two-year-old campaign, most notably winning the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood as well as finishing second and fifth behind City Of Troy in the Superlative and Dewhurst Stakes respectively, but looked more exposed than most ahead of his three-year-old debut.

Making his reappearance and 10th career start in one of the key Guineas trials, Haatem was sent off at 17-2 in the hands of Sean Levey and quickened up smartly racing out of the dip to pull three and a half lengths clear of Dewhurst third Eben Shaddad.

“The way he did it has surprised me, but you can’t say that was a fluke. He’s obviously improved a lot physically – he’s a big, strong, impressive horse,” said Hannon.

“He’s a good horse and he’s just won a Craven by three and a half lengths. He won a Vintage Stakes with the subsequent Champagne Stakes winner behind him and he was fifth in a Dewhurst.

“Funnily enough, I said to Sean after the last race I thought he’d get the trip well and it seems the horses who have been making the running all week have been winning and have been hard to peg back. I know he didn’t make the running, but I don’t think you can say that is an average performance, he was pretty good there.”

Coral cut Haatem to 25-1 from 66-1 for the 2000 Guineas, with Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy their 4-6 favourite and Rosallion rated his biggest threat at 5-1. Betfair and Paddy Power make Haatem a 20-1 chance.

Hannon is ready to let both of his pair line up at Newmarket next month, but did mention a couple of potential alternatives for Haatem.

He added: “This is the racecourse and this is where it matters and on what he has done today, the 25-1 on offer for the 2000 Guineas could be generous to me.

“Rosallion is a horse that contains an awful lot of speed, whereas this is a horse who gets the trip extremely well. Rosallion will get the mile and they will both probably run (in the Guineas).

“We’ve made no secret about how good we think Rosallion is. This horse has surprised me in the manner in which he did it, but I don’t think he should ever have been a 20-1 shot for the race like he was yesterday. It’s nice to have two very good milers on our hands and two with very good chances in the Guineas – one with an exceptional chance and one with a better chance than he had before.

“He’s in the German Guineas and Irish Guineas as well and I think he will be a force to be reckoned with wherever he goes. I’m delighted and the owners are delighted – they deserve it.”

Levey said: “No doubt he (Haatem) is exposed, but I thought he brought a lot of good form to the table. He was a big horse last year and I always thought he was doing well to do as well as he did because I knew he would get better in time.

“I wasn’t expecting that sort of run today, he’s obviously been hiding a bit from me at home. I thought he wanted a mile and a quarter, but I think he has done that really well and he’s going to show his hand in the Guineas now.

“Rosallion is a good horse and it gives you a bit of confidence to see this lad win the way he did. I hope I’m right (when I say) that he (Rosallion) is exceptional.”

Richard Hannon’s Group One winner Rosallion will head straight for the Qipco 2000 Guineas.

Hannon and owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid had been weighing up whether to take in a trial en route to the Newmarket Classic, for which the Blue Point colt is a best-riced 6-1 second-favourite behind City Of Troy.

However, they have decided the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner will avoid a testing run in soft ground and go there fresh.

“We have made the call that due to the unbelievable amount of rain we have had over the past months, Rosallion will not have a prep run and will head straight to the 2000 Guineas in May,” said Hannon on his website, www.richardhannonracing.co.uk.

“It has been a tough decision for both myself and his owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, but with the ground as testing as it currently is, a run now would be too hard for him to recover in just two weeks.

“Rosallion has been in great form at home and we have given him two away days now where he has looked very impressive. He is fit and well and we are confident that he goes to Newmarket ready to take his chance.”

Classic dreams are very much alive for Rosallion, with Richard Hannon reaffirming his confidence in his high-class Qipco 2000 Guineas hope.

The son of Blue Point has always been held in high regard and has previously been described as “right up there with the best we’ve ever had” by his handler.

He was last seen putting a Doncaster disappointment behind him when scooping Group One honours in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere – a victory that made him Britain’s best hope of overcoming Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy in the opening Classic of the season.

Hannon has been pleased with what he has seen from Rosallion since returning to work for his three-year-old campaign, but is still to decide if he will take part in any of the Guineas trials in the spring.

Concerned about running the talented colt on soft ground before his big date at Newmarket on May 4, he could instead head straight for the 2000 Guineas itself – a race for which he is a best price of 8-1.

“Rosallion is in great form and he’s had a canter upsides Haatem on the grass,” said Hannon.

“Timmy Murphy rides him every day and was delighted with him. It wasn’t a massively informative piece of work but it was just one of those where we thought we would give him a little bit while it was a nice morning and the grass is nice.”

He went on: “I would like to give him a trial, but I won’t run him anywhere where there is soft ground. He could just go straight to the 2000 Guineas.

“I’m going to take him to either Kempton or Newbury two or three weeks before the trials, so if he does go straight to the Guineas, he will be plenty quick enough.

“My view of him hasn’t changed, there is not a horse I would rather have other than him.”

Classic dreams are very much alive for Rosallion, with Richard Hannon reaffirming his confidence in his high-class Qipco 2000 Guineas hope.

The son of Blue Point has always been held in high regard and has previously been described as “right up there with the best we’ve ever had” by his handler.

He was last seen putting a Doncaster disappointment behind him when scooping Group One honours in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere – a victory that made him Britain’s best hope of overcoming Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy in the opening Classic of the season.

Hannon has been pleased with what he has seen from Rosallion since returning to work for his three-year-old campaign, but is still to decide if he will take part in any of the Guineas trials in the spring.

Concerned about running the talented colt on soft ground before his big date at Newmarket on May 4, he could instead head straight for the 2000 Guineas itself – a race for which he is a best price of 8-1.

“Rosallion is in great form and he’s had a canter upsides Haatem on the grass,” said Hannon.

“Timmy Murphy rides him every day and was delighted with him. It wasn’t a massively informative piece of work but it was just one of those where we thought we would give him a little bit while it was a nice morning and the grass is nice.”

He went on: “I would like to give him a trial, but I won’t run him anywhere where there is soft ground. He could just go straight to the 2000 Guineas.

“I’m going to take him to either Kempton or Newbury two or three weeks before the trials, so if he does go straight to the Guineas, he will be plenty quick enough.

“My view of him hasn’t changed, there is not a horse I would rather have other than him.”

Classic dreams are very much alive for Rosallion, with Richard Hannon reaffirming his confidence in his high-class Qipco 2000 Guineas hope.

The son of Blue Point has always been held in high regard and has previously been described as “right up there with the best we’ve ever had” by his handler.

He was last seen putting a Doncaster disappointment behind him when scooping Group One honours in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere – a victory that made him Britain’s best hope of overcoming Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy in the opening Classic of the season.

Hannon has been pleased with what he has seen from Rosallion since returning to work for his three-year-old campaign, but is still to decide if he will take part in any of the Guineas trials in the spring.

Concerned about running the talented colt on soft ground before his big date at Newmarket on May 4, he could instead head straight for the 2000 Guineas itself – a race for which he is a best price of 8-1.

“Rosallion is in great form and he’s had a canter upsides Haatem on the grass,” said Hannon.

“Timmy Murphy rides him every day and was delighted with him. It wasn’t a massively informative piece of work but it was just one of those where we thought we would give him a little bit while it was a nice morning and the grass is nice.”

He went on: “I would like to give him a trial, but I won’t run him anywhere where there is soft ground. He could just go straight to the 2000 Guineas.

“I’m going to take him to either Kempton or Newbury two or three weeks before the trials, so if he does go straight to the Guineas, he will be plenty quick enough.

“My view of him hasn’t changed, there is not a horse I would rather have other than him.”

Rosallion bounced back from Doncaster disappointment in style with victory in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp.

An impressive winner at Ascot on his penultimate start, Richard Hannon’s charge suffered a shock defeat when only third as the odds-on favourite in the Champagne Stakes last month.

However, the son of Blue Point put that performance well behind him as he swooped late to deny Unquestionable.

Settled towards the rear by Sean Levey as Henry Adams and the keen-going Ballymount Boy cut out the early running, Rosallion was clearly still travelling well entering the straight and launched his decisive run down the outside to grab the glory.

Favourite Beauvatier did not enjoy the smoothest of passages, and while he tried a similar late finish he could catch the Hannon runner, coming home third.

Levey said: “I was always going to win today. He had his ground and that’s how good he is.”

Rosallion and Son may have both earned themselves a place in Richard Hannon’s squad for Royal Ascot after opening their respective accounts at Newbury on Tuesday.

Rosallion was unraced prior to the first division of the Get A Run For Your Money At BetVictor Maiden Stakes, but there was plenty of confidence behind him in the market as the 11-8 market leader.

The Blue Point colt needed a little persuasion from rider Sean Levey, but the further he went, the better he looked and he was ultimately well on top at the line.

A tilt at the Coventry Stakes – a race the trainer’s father Richard Hannon senior won with Rock City in 1989, Canford Cliffs in 2009 and Strong Suit in 2010 – would appear an obvious target and he is a 14-1 shot for the Group Two contest with Paddy Power.

“I was delighted. He’s got the job done and going past the line he’s quite impressive,” Hannon told Racing TV.

“He took a bit of time to get going, he’s never really been off the bridle at home and when you come to the races with those horses that do it very easily at home, they miss out on that side of the education.

“He knows what’s required now and he’ll improve massively for that. He could be a very good horse.”

When asked about future plans, the trainer added: “Yes he’s in the Railway Stakes, yes he could be a Coventry horse and yes I think he’s a horse for next year.

“They always say that today is the last day to make Royal Ascot horses and we’ll see how he comes out of the race. He’s a very good horse and that’s what we came here to see.”

The Herridge handler looked to have every chance of doubling up in the second division, with Son a 6-5 favourite to build on the promise of his debut third at Ascot last month and he did so with a clear-cut victory in the hands of Pat Dobbs.

Owner Julie Wood, whose colours were carried to Coventry Stakes success by Strong Suit 13 years ago, would be quite happy for Son to head for Berkshire in a fortnight’s time.

She said: “It’s always a standing joke that anything that wins leading up to Ascot you always consider it and of course we will. Whether he ends up there or beyond I don’t know, but today we came away with the result we wanted and we’ve got a nice horse.

“I thought he did it nicely. There was one point in the middle of the race when you didn’t know which way it was going, but Pat didn’t really have to get serious with him and he lengthened away well.”

The other two-year-old race on the card, the opening Make Your Best Bet At BetVictor Restricted Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, went the way of the Amo Racing-owned Mapmaker (9-4 favourite).

Amo already has a strong team of juveniles bound for the Royal meeting and Daryll Holland’s Mapmaker, who finished third on her introduction at Redcar just last week, threw her name into the hat into the ring with a two-length verdict under Kevin Stott.

“She ran a nice race at Redcar and was bound to come on from that,” said the jockey.

“Daryll said she’d come out of the race really well and her homework was good. We had a bit of experience and she put it to bed at the two-furlong pole, so I was pleased.

“We’ve got a good team going to Ascot and I’m not sure what Daryll and Kia (Joorabchian, owner) would like to do with this filly, I’ll leave it to them,

Stott went on to complete a double of his own aboard 11-4 favourite Champagne Sarah in the Tune In To Weekend Winners Handicap.

Neil Callan also booted home two winners, steering Ed Dunlop’s Seal Of Solomon (6-1) to victory in the Follow BetVictor On Twitter Handicap and the Michael Bell-trained Burdett Road (6-1) to a runaway success in the concluding Gamble Responsibly At BetVictor Handicap.