Sporting Life
Living In The Past pictured winning the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes
Living In The Past pictured winning the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes

2020 Karl Burke Stable Tour featuring Living In The Past, Dubai Station and Lord Of The Lodge

By Sporting Life
Horse Racing
Wed April 15, 2020 · 5y ago

Karl Burke’s Middleham yard is the latest stop in the series as he brings us up to speed with hopes and expectations for the 2020 team.

It’s basically our normal routine as usual, bar we’re not galloping too many horses. Certainly not the older horses but they could all be fit and ready to run in a couple of weeks when required.

I’m keen to keep driving on with the two-year-olds as it’s going to be a shorter season with them when it does get started and you’ll need to know your pecking order.

We’ll plan to work a few of the youngsters over the next two or three weeks and want them ready when racing does resume.

To be honest, when lockdown was first introduced it didn’t sit well with everybody because we were all geared to go for the start of the season and the rug is pulled from underneath you. But now we’re more used to it, and in a way it would be worse if you were running horses and they weren’t in form, with everybody else having winners.

So in some respects we’re all in the same boat which makes it a bit easier to take.

Our Friends in the North – Karl Burke

Stable Star: Lord Of The Lodge

Horse to Follow: Ainsdale

Handicapper to Follow: Jamais Assez

Older horses

Astro Jakk

He did really well through the winter on the all-weather, he liked the Southwell surface and I see absolutely no reason why he won’t be equally as effective on the turf with some cut in the ground. I think that’ll be important to him. He’s a useful sprint handicapper in the making.

Hareem Queen

She did really well through the winter and won a Listed race on her last start in February at Lingfield. It’s not going to be easy to place her, there aren’t many fillies-only sprints and we’ve lost one or two of those already at the start of the turf season. She’s useful with cut in the ground.

Kelly’s Dino

He’s a great old horse who has been with us since we bought him as a yearling in France. I was hoping he would run better in the Sky Bet Ebor but he possesses plenty of ability. I’m not sure he stays two miles but I’m sure he stays a mile and a half really well and does get a mile, six. He’ll probably be entered in all the big handicaps around those distances and hopefully he can land another nice prize along the way.

Lady In France

She’s another one who is reliant on soft ground. But she’s been progressive and should improve again. She’s rated 100 now and might just have a little bit more in the locker.

Raydiance

He’s a tough old campaigner who’s been around a while. He was a Listed winner at two and consequently has been fighting a bit of a battle with the handicapper. He’s not the most straightforward to train but when he’s right and on the right ground he’s very capable. He put together a few good runs on the all-weather and should be fine back on the turf through the year.

Rayong

He’s another by Mayson and would want a bit of cut in the ground to be at his best I would think, although he probably handles good ground. He looked quite quick early on in his two-year-old career but he’ll want six furlongs and probably seven in time. He was unlucky at Royal Ascot when knocked sideways when coming with his run in the Windsor Castle, otherwise he wouldn’t have been too far away.

True Mason

True Mason

A lovely old horse and I’m gutted we haven’t won a Group race with him to be honest. He was third in the Morny and in the Papin, I thought I’d get him to win a Group race and consequently I’ve held off gelding him for so long. But we’ve done that now and he’s got an enormous amount of ability, looks really well and there should be a big prize in him all being well.

Vitralite

He’s a very interesting horse and another with an awful lot of ability. We haven’t heard the last of him yet by any means. Sean Woods owns him and he’s started training again so I’m hoping racing kicks off before he gets going again and takes him off our hands! He’s a lovely horse and whoever ends up training him there will be some big days ahead for him.

Three-year-olds

Ainsdale

On heavy ground he’s a very useful sprinter and I’d expect him to be getting some black type. Hopefully we can turn him into Mayson’s first Group winner.

Classy Moon

He’s only had three runs and showed a lot of ability first time out. We put the gun to his head a bit and threw him into the deep end in the July Stakes and he was only beaten two and a half lengths. Then I made the big mistake of running him back quickly again in the Morny which clearly wasn’t the right thing to do in hindsight. We’ve had to give him a bit of time, we’ve gelded him and it’s going to be tough off a mark of 97 but he’s a horse with a lot of ability. It’s hard to say just where we’ll go with him at this stage.

Dubai Station

A lovely horse, he was third in the Norfolk and third behind Earthlight in France. He’s very good. He’s has a few little niggly issues which we’re hoping we’ve ironed out as he’s done tremendously well through the winter. He looks a magnificent physical specimen now.

George Cornelius

He’s an interesting one, he only ran twice in Ireland and was sent to us during the winter. He had quite a big reputation after bolting up first time out at Dundalk but he had injuries and things after that and things seemed to go wrong for him. He’s a little bit of a hard horse to train as he’s edgy still, but he’s got ability alright.

Gravity Force

He’s done well. This time last year we couldn’t get him out but he’s progressed really well during the winter. He’s in good form and a bit of cut in the ground will probably help him as he’s a lengthy horse who is filling his frame.

Jamais Assez

He’s by Invincible Spirit and certainly hasn’t shown what he’s capable of doing yet. He’s wintered really well and starts the year off a mark of 78 and I’d say he’ll be very capable from that mark. He’s been gelded since he raced last in October.

Living In The Past

The Lowther winner, she’s just coming back to form after going out to the Breeders’ Cup. She won’t stay a mile and I would imagine she’ll be campaigned at six furlongs. She might stay seven but she looks like a six furlong filly to me. Where we go with her I don't know at the moment, sadly.

Lord Of The Lodge

He’s a very good horse. We were going to aim at one of the Guineas trials and that’s not going to happen. Where we go with him I haven’t a clue really but I think he’s really good.

Macho Time

He could be handicapped quite nicely, I’m not sure he’ll make up into a black type horse but he’ll progress and there’s a big one in him I’m sure.

Two-year-olds

I’d have said we would have had three or four two-year-olds ready to go through April and then a load more ready to run through May but we’ll have to just sit tight in terms of getting them onto a racecourse.

It’s a lovely, balanced team of two-year-olds in general and while we’ve not quite as many as last year, they look a nice bunch. Their pedigrees are quick and they look quick on the gallops but we’ll know a lot more in another month or so.

Also in the series...