Karl Burke: 'She's high-class and looks fantastic - she deserves to be high in the Guineas betting'

Spigot Lodge is a stable very much on the up and after last year's exploits, the only problem is trying to follow such a hard act. Nonetheless, Karl Burke is more than hopeful that he has the strength in depth to do just that.

"Last season was our best ever for number of winners and prize-money," he says. "We were very lucky with the horses we bought and we got sent some nice ones – we've got some of the bigger owners in the yard now and it showed.

"I'd have to say, though, that we've never had a team as good as this year's. I knew we didn't have the same kind of quality and numbers to run through the winter, but we still ran respectably, and now we've got a huge team of two-year-olds – on paper the best bunch we've ever had – and those youngsters we've kept from last year include some exciting ones, with some decent older horses to go to work with as well.