William Haggas Flat season stable tour
Newmarket handler William Haggas spoke to Graham Clark ahead of the new campaign, with Rivet among his leading lights.
It is one thing for a trainer to have a Classic prospect on their hands and another to turn those dreams into reality when the occasion arrives.
That transition is something William Haggas has achieved on two previous occasions, with victories in the Investec Derby and Oaks topping the list of big-race successes that have helped the Newmarket handler become one of Britain's top trainers.
With last year's Racing Post Trophy winner Rivet as short as 14/1 for the Qipco 2000 Guineas, and no bigger than 20/1 for the Epsom showpiece, there is every chance that 2017 could be year Haggas extends his Classic total.
He said: "Rivet is fine and I would like to give him a run before he has a cut at a Guineas of some description.
"At the moment we are leaning towards France but he is in the English, he will be in the Irish and any other Classic we can think of.
"As far as his best trip goes, he might be best at 10 furlongs but I don't know that yet.
"He is out of a Galileo mare so he might get a mile and a half. It is early days, but he looks stronger to me.
"I think very much so that he exceeded expectations last year. You always hope when you have a good-moving horse with a pedigree that they will be good.
"He is a fluent mover. His brother loved top of the ground and could cope with the soft, but he has won on slow ground and I think he will be as effective if not more so on fast ground.
"You hope his life is only beginning and not at an end."
While plenty of focus will understandably be on Rivet, Haggas could have a filly of equal potential in new arrival Sea Of Grace.
The three-year-old daughter of Born To Sea tasted defeat on her debut but won her last two starts for former trainer John Oxx, including a Group Three at the Curragh.
He said: "I like her. She has done well. We are planning to go to Newmarket for the Nell Gwyn to give her a taste of Newmarket and the track.
"She will stay a mile well and might get further in time, but if she is going to win a Guineas she needs to put a good show up in the Nell Gwyn.
"She has had a kind preparation as a two-year-old and has everything to look forward to I hope.
"She came in great shape and so far she has had a thoroughly good preparation this winter. John Oxx felt she could easily be a Group One filly and he was going to her in the Moyglare but she got a temperature.
"We are very lucky to have her."
When looking back through the big-race victories that Haggas has enjoyed it is noticeable that a Group One victory at Royal Ascot is an omission from his impressive record.
That statistic could change should the talented, but at times frustrating, Mutakayyef, who finished fifth in the Dubai Turf on his first start of the year with the ground against him, finally deliver at the top table.
He said: "I think there is plenty of life left in Mutakayyef. He is a good horse in his own right. He ran some very good races last year and he looks pretty good over a mile.
"I thought he was very impressive at Ascot and that was the first time he did what I hoped he would do. Then he was third to Postponed and Highland Reel in the Juddmonte and I guess that was some of the best middle-distance form of the year. He is going to be attacking some smart races this year.
"The one race I really want to have a crack at this year is the Sussex. He has definitely got a Group One in him."
Progressive stayer Dal Harraild has yet to scale the same heights as a number of his stablemates, but hopes are high he can continue his upward curve, having successfully moved out of the handicap ranks with a Listed victory at Newmarket on his final start in 2016.
He said: "He is a nice, young stayer and I don't know how far he is going to go.
"He is useful already. I suspect he will start in the Yorkshire Cup.
"He likes firm ground and that is not always the case at that time of the year at York, but he will run in a decent race first time out and we will decide which way to go with him. He will get an entry in the Gold Cup at Ascot.
"He just got better all year. We are quite excited about him. We would like to look at going to Melbourne with him in the autumn because he is a fast-ground horse, and apparently that's what you need out there.
"He improved a lot all summer but he has to have fast ground. He has been rubbish on soft ground. He could run in the Jockey Club Stakes.
"It will be dependent on the ground."
Haggas on the rest of his string:
"He's a nice horse. He won his maiden very well at Lingfield. It's difficult to know what he achieved there but he looks the part and I think he will get a mile and a quarter no problem. He might end up going for a Derby trial. He might go for the Feilden or he might wait and go for the mile-and-a-quarter Listed race at the Guineas meeting."
"She is out of a Galileo mare so she should stay and she has got ability. I've put her in the Guineas, but that might be a step too far, though I suspect she will run in a trial, possibly at Newbury for the Fred Darling if we can get her ready in time. She relaxes well and clearly stays seven furlongs well. She has done nothing wrong."
"She is a fair yardstick and ran pretty solidly all year. She may well go for the Fred Darling as well. She is not a very big filly but an athletic one and is very genuine. She has come to hand quite early so I suspect we will run her quite early. She is a speedily-bred horse."
"She has to have fast ground. She'll go to Bath for a fillies' Listed race at the end of April if the ground is right, then to Nottingham for a similar race but over six (furlongs) in mid-May. The Summer Stakes at York in early July is her big target. If she can make that same improvement again she will be a really good filly."
"He's a good sprinter and is one that wants fast ground, but he had a few issues at the back-end. I think he'll get six furlongs in a better-run race. He could easily be a Stewards' Cup type and Goodwood would be his place, too. A fast six furlongs would be right up his street."
"We've got him in some nice races. I don't think he will be ready for the Feilden but he will probably start off over a mile, possibly a mile and a quarter. He is a fast-ground horse. He is rated 108 and I'm sure he is a stakes horse, but I don't know where he will quite end up."
"He'll either start in the Pavilion at Ascot or the Carnarvon at Newbury in May, or even the Sandy Lane at Haydock. He could be more of a Jersey horse as he won over six and a half (furlongs) at Doncaster. The Commonwealth Cup is relatively new race with a good lead-up programme. If he shapes well in them he will have a crack at the Commonwealth Cup."
"She's not very big but she is very genuine. I think she wants seven (furlongs) on fast ground so she will be aimed at the better-class races. She might end up being a Sandringham filly as she might get a mile. I'm not in a rush with her to get her going. What she lacks in size she makes up in heart."
"She is a Sea The Stars filly from a good family and she won her maiden over a mile and a quarter at Pontefract by seven lengths and didn't run again. I think she has developed well. She is only rated 77 at the moment but I've always thought she could be Listed class if things go her way."
"He is improving. He's bred with a lot of speed in his family. I want to go for the three-year-old final at Lingfield on Good Friday, but, on the evidence of his latest race, that might be a bit short for him but he could develop into a Jersey Stakes horse. He had an injury after he ran in May and that's why we decided to give him an all-weather campaign."
"He is talented. I think he wants fast ground as he got a bit stuck in the mud at Sandown. He is rated 88 and I suspect he will start in handicaps. He will get a mile and might well get a mile and a quarter, but fast ground is important to him. He did it well but he is a colty type and we need to keep on top of him."