'So far, so good' - all systems go for Baaeed as Haggas ponders step up in trip

William Haggas has said his unbeaten miler Baaeed has done well from three to four as he prepares to return in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury next month – and revealed a step-up in trip could perhaps come as early as Royal Ascot.

Haggas was speaking to the Racing Post for a major article in Sunday's newspaper shining a spotlight on four big talking points for the Flat season: Baaeed's potential development into the best miler since Frankel, Adayar's attempt to become the saviour the Derby so badly needs, William Buick's bid to finally land a maiden jockeys' title and Aidan O'Brien's need to put an uncharacteristically – by his standards – quiet 2021 behind him.

Members' Club Ultimate subscribers can already read parts one and two here:

William Buick: 'Oisin being out doesn't change anything - so much still needs to go right'

Baaeed: We've never been starved of a great miler for so long - could this be the one?

Yet while Baaeed has got the racing world excited with his exploits over a mile, winning all six races last season including a memorable defeat of Palace Pier in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day, it is by no means guaranteed he will stick to that trip for long.

Baaeed: set to return in the Lockinge at Newbury next monthCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I think it's pretty straightforward," said Haggas when asked to map out the four-year-old's campaign, "but the question I keep asking myself is when, or if, we step him up in trip. His pedigree suggests he'll be better over further, or at least just as good, and if he's not sharp enough over a mile now he'll have to go up in trip quite quickly.

"The Lockinge is the obvious starting point and he'll have entries in both the Queen Anne and the Prince of Wales's Stakes to keep our options open."

Reflecting on Baaeed's condition, Haggas added: "So far, so good, but we're into dangerous territory now. As any athlete will tell you, once you get fit, life becomes a little easier and maintaining that fitness is not as difficult, but getting fit is hard, muscles get sore, everything gets sore, and that's the process he's going through.

"Luckily, he's not difficult. He's done well from three to four, but then he was almost certain to. He's not huge, just a good medium-sized horse with a good backside, and he's charming, very kind and relatively straightforward."

The next part in the series will be available online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up.

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The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday