It's nearly time to take the wraps off the Group 1 older horses - and I can't wait for it

Afternoons at Kempton's all-weather track are not always conducive to big-race news but they can facilitate chance conversations with people like Richard Hannon. 

The Wiltshire trainer was buoyed by a double at the track but he already had plenty to smile about thanks to next weekend's Lockinge Stakes, for which he is particularly well armed.  

Hannon has made a rather quiet start to the Flat season by his high standards, with no runners in Newmarket's opening two Classics following a 2,000 Guineas second and third 12 months ago. While his three-year-old crop looks thin on the ground at this stage, last year's results do mean he has the happy conundrum of having four viable contenders for Newbury's Group 1 contest, spearheaded by last year's Guineas pair of Rosallion and Haatem.