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'We'll go down the Guineas route' - Horris Hill winner Knight has camp dreaming

Knight and David Egan come clear in the Horris Hill
Knight and David Egan come clear in the Horris HillCredit: Mark Cranham

Saturday: Newbury

The Horris Hill is not a great pointer to Classic glory but the 2,000 Guineas dream is alive for connections of Knight, who made it two from two in the Virgin Bet-sponsored Group 3 contest.

He is owned by KHK Racing Ltd and earned a quote of 25-1 from Betfair and Paddy Power for the Guineas in May, a race that was firmly on Ed Crisford's mind following the success.

Crisford trains the juvenile with his father Simon and said: "He's an exciting colt for next year and we'll go down the Guineas route. He'll probably run in a trial in the spring as he's a very nice horse."

Knight was ridden by David Egan, who is sponsored by KHK Racing and rode Eldar Eldarov to St Leger glory and Sakheer in Newbury's Mill Reef for the outfit last month.

The jockey was impressed with the son of Mehmas, whose sister is the classy Prix de la Foret runner-up Malavath.

"Shaikh Khalid [bin Hamad Al Khalifa] has a lot of good horses and he looks another," Egan said.

"He's handled that ground, which is as heavy as these horses will likely ever encounter."

Magical Sunset motors home in impressive fashion
Magical Sunset motors home in impressive fashionCredit: Mark Cranham

Magical performance

Richard Hannon was purring after Magical Sunset tore away from her rivals in the Listed race for two-year-old fillies.

In the purple of Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing Limited, she was the most impressive winner on the card and Paddy Power and Betfair introduced her at 33-1 for next year's 1,000 Guineas.

"She was one of the nicest looking yearlings I've ever seen and I begged Kia to buy her," said Hannon.

Fine Impact

Marc Chan's distinctive silks have become a familiar sight on British racecourses this season and Quantum Impact carried them to victory in the nursery.

His colours were carried by Group 1 winners Lezoo and Kinross recently and Izzi Beckett, whose husband Ralph trains that pair alongside Quantum Impact, said: "Marc's having a great time – it's been unbelievable."

Quantum Impact makes an impact in the nursery
Quantum Impact makes an impact in the nurseryCredit: Mark Cranham

The juvenile was partnered by Andrea Atzeni, who is not a regular rider for the yard.

"Andrea is hard to get," Beckett said, "but it's useful when we can get him."

The Beckett yard doubled up when Max Vega, who won April's John Porter at the course, was on top in the St Simon Stakes.

"You can set your clock by him when the ground is right," Beckett said. "It's quite annoying as I was meant to have my £2 each-way on him at 22-1 and didn't!"

Christmas is coming

The next meeting at Newbury will be a jumps one and work has begun for the track's Great Christmas Carnival, a winter wonderland-style event open to the general public from November 27 until January 2.

Racegoers at the two-day Coral Gold Cup meeting on November 25 and 26 will receive complimentary access to the site, as will those who purchase tickets for the track's two December fixtures.

Results, replays and analysis


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James BurnLambourn correspondent

Published on 22 October 2022inReports

Last updated 19:04, 22 October 2022

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