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There will be plenty of excitement about Rosallion over the winter at Richard Hannon’s yard, with the trainer naming him “right up there with the best we’ve ever had”.
The Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardare winner is likely to skip the remainder of the season and embark on a 2000 Guineas campaign next year. Connections are keen to avoid the possibility of soft ground:
"I think the plan we've discussed with Sheikh Mohammed Obaid is we will leave him and keep the dream intact for the Guineas.
"We will let him hopefully do well over the winter and give him every chance.
"Whether we go for a trial or not we will see, but he's obviously not going to go anywhere where there is soft ground – and if it was soft ground for the Guineas, then that would include that as well.
"He will have no problem getting a mile and he's right up there with the best we've ever had. He's shown that since the first bit of work he has ever done.
"He's certainly got as much promise as anything we've ever had. A horse like him makes the winter a lot shorter."
The son of Blue Point commenced his career in June with a Newbury win and followed up with an easy four-length success in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot. He started hot favourite for the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster's St Leger Festival on soft ground, but was easily beaten by Iberian. The quicker conditions experienced at Longchamp saw the colt to better effect, winning the Group 1 Jean-Luc Lagardare in emphatic style.
"We were absolutely delighted and he showed us what he could do only 15 days after his flop in the Champagne Stakes.
"There were several reasons why [he was beaten], he got a smack over the head with a whip and just didn't operate in that ground at all.
"He had been working great before the Champagne and again before the Lagardere. He never looked like getting beat in the Lagardere, he travelled supremely all the way through, picked up lovely and it's just nice to be right."
Rosallion is widely available at 12/1 for next year's 2000 Guineas on 4 May.
