Burke and O'Brien unleash more juvenile stars - plus which luckless Northumberland Plate runner is worth another chance?

Expensive Book 1 buy another to impress for Burke

Karl Burke trained his 23rd juvenile winner of the season on Saturday and York debut scorer Hankelow has to be among the smartest from the staying types in his ranks.

The son of Night Of Thunder was a 750,000gns Book 1 buy as a yearling last October and showed a professional attitude to score by two and a quarter lengths in the 7f novice under Clifford Lee.

Hankelow's performance can be marked up given the second, third, fourth and fifth had the benefit of a previous run and had all shaped with promise. Runner-up Crest Of Fire had been fifth behind subsequent Chesham scorer Humidity on his first start at Newbury last month.

Burke described Hankelow as "a Group horse in the making over a mile" and he is a half-brother to this season's Yorkshire Cup runner-up Epic Poet. 

Hankelow was sent off the 3-1 second favourite and market confidence behind juvenile runners from this northern powerhouse yard has to be heeded. Venetian Sun, the subsequent Albany winner, was another case in point as she was backed into odds-on favouritism when winning at Carlisle last month.
Jack Haynes

Potential Group 1 contenders on show

Burke may also have been pleased to see Aidan O'Brien's Beautify get the better of Lady Iman in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes at the Curragh. 

The Wootton Bassett juvenile had last been seen finishing third behind Balantina, who went on to be third behind Venetian Sun in the Albany. Burke was highly complimentary about Venetian Sun and that is an early indicator the Ascot form could stack up.

Beautify was one of many smart two-year-olds on show at the Curragh for O'Brien, who has a habit of unleashing his best youngsters at the Irish Derby meeting,

Composing won a maiden with a rich recent history at the Curragh on FridayCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Composing was fifth in the same fillies' maiden as Balantina and Beautify, but markedly improved on her second start upped to seven furlongs to win the same race Lake Victoria plundered on this weekend 12 months ago. Three of the last four winners of the contest have gone on to score at Group 1 level – the other managed second in the Prix de Diane – so big things could lie ahead for Composing. 

Dorset won the same 7f maiden City Of Troy landed two years ago, and although there were odds-on defeats for Flushing Meadows in the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes and for Puerto Rico, you can still expect to see both competing at a higher level in the next few months.

Flushing Meadows was beaten by another smart prospect in the Ger Lyons-trained Suzie Songs, with those two pulling clear, while Puerto Rico had little luck in running and would surely be fancied to reverse the form with winner Learntodiscover if they met again.
Sam Hendry

East India Dock still a big danger off 97

Plenty of punters would have been tracking the fortunes of favourite East India Dock in the Northumberland Plate with anguished expressions.

In contrast with his Chester Cup-winning run, when he was always prominent from an inside draw, a wide berth this time didn't help James Doyle and he settled right at the back of the field, from where his chances were always slim.

East India Dock (white cap, left) finished well from the back of the field in the Northumberland PlateCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

He sluiced through the field in the closing stages to finish an eyecatching sixth, with the front two not coming back soon enough.

That shouldn't result in any change to his official rating of 97, a mark off which he also finished sixth in the Queen Alexandra at Royal Ascot, and that still underestimates him.
Sam Hendry

Read more from The Last Word . . . 

Whirl tops three-year-old filly rankings and matches Bluestocking as Arc looms on the horizon 

Lambourn's odds for King George and Arc easy to resist - but 9-1 for this St Leger hope should be snapped up 

It all looked a bit rushed for Lambourn as he completed his Derby double but there's a good reason for making allowances 

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