It can be cold and bleak on Newmarket Heath in the middle of April, but for a follower of Flat racing there is nowhere better to be on the first day of the Craven meeting. There is a potential Group horse at every turn as the summer code begins to rub the sleep from its eyes, and Tuesday’s card is the first step on a path that leads to Classics, the Royal meeting and a series of summer festivals.
In the eyes of those who are paid to promote the sport, winners at the Craven meeting are not good enough for the jockeys’ championship, but the Feilden Stakes, one of the feature events at the meeting, was good enough for Golden Horn when he made a winning seasonal debut 12 months ago.
He went on to win the Derby and the Arc, and though Tuesday’s four-runner renewal is unlikely to contain a colt of equal quality it will mark a significant moment in the embryonic training career of Owen Burrows, who took over the licence at Kingwood House Stables in Lambourn this year from Barry Hills, one of the most successful trainers of the past 40 years.
Burrows, 41, was formerly an assistant to Sir Michael Stoute in Newmarket, and will saddle his first runner on turf when Mustajeer, a maiden winner at the course in September, goes to post for the Fielden.
“If he could do half as well as Golden Horn, I’d be happy,” Burrows said on Monday. “He won nicely at the back end last year and physically he’s done very well over the winter.
“I just can’t wait for the season to start. I’ll have just under 50 horses once everything’s in, and a pretty even split between two-year-olds and older horses. You can only dream of starting with a team like this, it’s a very privileged position to be in.
“Barry trained umpteen Group One and Classic winners, and though he’s taken a back seat now, he’s always at the end of the phone, he comes and watches the work and I’m sure that if I need a bit of advice, he’ll be there.”
Massaat, who finished second behind Air Force Blue, the hot favourite for the 2,000 Guineas, in last year’s Dewhurst Stakes will also be at Newmarket on Tuesday, though only for a racecourse gallop ahead of the Classic this month.
“Massaat is a very exciting horse and he’d be our flag-bearer, but there’s also Mustajeer, and [Derby entry] Muntazah, who was third in the Royal Lodge. I’m looking forward to stepping him up in trip,” Burrows said.
”The Guineas will tell us where to go with Massaat. Some people have questioned whether he will stay a mile, but I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t, and he might get a bit further.”
Burrows also runs Fawaareq (5.05) in the Alex Scott Maiden Stakes and the son of Invincible Spirit sets the standard in a field that includes several impeccably bred newcomers. Mustajeer, though, may succumb to the greater experience of Ventura Storm (3.55), who was upped to a Group One for his final start last season.
Richard Hannon, Ventura Storm’s trainer, has realistic prospects of a double in the feature events as Illuminate (4.30), the runner-up behind Lumiere in last season’s Group One Cheveley Park Stakes, is a strong contender for the Nell Gwyn Stakes, a race he won last season with Osaila.
