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Karl Burke's leading 1000 Guineas contender Fallen Angel and unbeaten colt Night Raider stepped up their Classic preparations with a racecourse gallop on the Rowley Mile this afternoon.
Ridden by Daniel Tudhope, the Karl Burke-trained one-and-a-quarter length Moyglare Stud Stakes winner travelled powerfully before breezing past the 92-rated Lethal Levi in the closing stages.
"Very happy with that. Delighted, she's never a filly that is explosive in her work and she really needs a slap behind the saddle but obviously, we're not going to do that today," explained Burke.
"We've got two and a half weeks (until the 1000 Guineas) and she's got time for at least one more good piece of work at home. That was always the plan, she needed this racecourse gallop for the fitness, whereas the colt (Night Raider) came here for experience."
A general 4/1 chance for the fillies' Classic back on the Rowley Mile in just under three weeks time, Fallen Angel also holds an entry in the Epsom Oaks and although fully concentrated on her closest assignment, a step up in trip down the line could await.
"I'd say watching that and with what we saw last year, she's got a great chance of staying a mile and a quarter. She's in the Oaks but we don't need to worry about that just yet, we can concentrate on the 1000 Guineas for now.
"She was a very good Group 1 winner (Moyglare Stud Stakes) at two, doesn't have that many miles on the clock and is very unlucky not to be an unbeaten filly. I think she'll be doing her best work crossing the line in the Guineas."
Joining Fallen Angel in Newmarket on the first weekend in May will be Night Raider, a colt who had clock-watchers purring when a facile winner on his debut at Southwell in December, before remaining unbeaten with a smooth performance back at the same venue last month.
The Danny Tudhope-ridden Night Raider, a 12/1 shot for the first Classic contest of the season was joined by Group 2 Dullingham Park Stakes winner Flight Plan, who was partnered by Sam James on the Rowley Mile.
"Perfectly happy and satisfied with that," said Burke. "The key to the gallop is how Flight Plan went and Sam James knows Flight Plan very well from home and he thought he worked very well."
"I wouldn't have minded Danny (Tudhope) giving him more of a squeeze, but he's done enough. It wasn't for fitness it was for us to watch him stretch out on the grass for more than anything. It's the first time this horse has galloped on grass for nearly a year.
"He'll have learnt a lot from that, Danny Tudhope is happy and I'm happy."
Alongside the Karl Burke duo stretching their legs on the Rowley Mile was the Owen Burrows-trained Alyanaabi, last seen finishing second behind 2000 Guineas favourite City Of Troy in the Dewhurst and Charlie Hills' Champagne Stakes winner Iberian, who was partnered by Tom Marquand.
Burrows said: "Jim (Crowley) said he settled well, which was good because he can be a little keen at home.
"Mentally, it will do him the world of good and hopefully he can step forward from it in two and a half weeks.
"Originally, I didn't think I needed to bring him up here, but we were quite keen to get him on some nice ground and there's not a lot of that around at the moment.
"Physically, he has done well, and we have a bit to find (with City Of Troy), so we will just have to see. I'm happy physically with how he has done, so we will see, time will tell."
Tom Marquand breezed upsides two unnamed stablemates on the son of Lope De Vega, with Hills seemingly impressed by his 25/1 2000 Guineas candidate. "He's got huge form and his work on fast ground is completely different to that on soft at home and he's never really had the chance to show his full potential last year," said Hills.
"Every time he ran, it was soft ground and at Goodwood in his second race, he probably should have won that race, just the track and inexperience and the ground was soft there as well.
"The Champagne was soft as well and he's gone and beat two Group One winners in that.
"The way he is bred, he should certainly get the mile, but you just have to be careful with who he works with in the morning, as he just destroys them in two or three strides, he has so much natural speed.
"He just cantered the first furlong and I just wanted Tom (Marquand) to get a nice rhythm into him, he could be pretty special."