Owen Burrows Stable Tour ahead of 2024 Flat season

Having said farewell to stable flagbearer and dual Group One winner Hukum at the end of the last campaign, the Lambourn handler has in the returning pair of Anmaat and Alflaila two horses capable of filling his void on the biggest stage.

Add to that several exciting three year olds, headed by last year’s Dewhurst Stakes runner-up Alyanaabi, and some expensive two year olds that are shaping up smartly, it is easy to see why Burrows is excited about the months ahead.

He said: “Prize money last year was my highest ever, but I’m aware Hukum played a big part in that, and we can’t rely on him any more.

“We might be a bit off it in terms of prize money this season as we won nearly £800,000 in one day last season, and you aren’t going to do that often, but I would like to be getting towards 35 and 40 winners with the amount of horses we have.

“With a bit of luck we will get a bit more out of Alflaila and Anmaat as they only had two runs each last season. It is potentially the best three year old team I’ve had, and on paper the two year olds are the best I’ve had for years, but they have got to take that to the racetrack.

“I’ve got nine new owners this season as well, plus I’ve got a couple of orders for the breeze up sales, which all bodes well."

Alfareqa

“She cost 1.6 million guineas at the Book One sale at Tattersalls, and she is a gorgeous filly.

"She has only been cantering, but she is an athletic, good moving filly. She finds everything very easy at the moment.

"Her mum (Millisle) won the Cheveley Park Stakes, and I would like to think she will be out in the summer. Everything comes very naturally to her, and Frankel can get a two year old.

"For that money she is going to be nice. We will see what sort of speed she shows when we start going quicker, but her mum won a Group One over six furlongs so there should be a bit of boot in there.”

Alflaila

“He won’t be ready until the second part of May as he had a little blip after the Irish Champion Stakes. He obviously won well in the Group Two (York Stakes) up at York last season. We are all in agreement that it didn’t go to plan in Ireland, but he was only three and a quarter lengths behind Auguste Rodin.

"He doesn’t have much to find at the top level, and all being well we can have a bit more of a longer season. He is another one that is moving well and that has done well. We might have a look at the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown Park first, and then all being well we can look at all the decent 10 furlong races with him.

"You would hope he could go for the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. I wouldn’t rule out going up in trip to a mile and a half with him at some point because of his run style. He hit the line strongly in the Irish Champion and it might just open up a few more options at some stage.”

Alyanaabi

“He didn’t do a lot wrong last season. The plan is that, if the ground is suitable, we will look at the Greenham, but if it is soft I would have reservations running him two weeks before the 2000 Guineas. If that is the case we will take him for a racecourse gallop.

“Physically, he has done well and Jim (Crowley) has been in to have a couple of sits on him, and he is happy with him, so touch wood it is all good. The one good thing is that he doesn’t need any experience of the undulations at the Rowley Mile as he won the Group Three (Tattersalls Stakes) there, and he didn’t do a lot wrong in the Dewhurst which is a plus.

“He was always a good size horse, and he is one that I never thought would lack size going forward. What he did in the Dewhurst was as close as anything has got to City Of Troy. I think he sits in the Guineas picture with a good each-way shout.

“I don’t see him getting much further than a mile, not with the speed he shows at home, so we will be looking at races like the Irish Guineas and Royal Ascot afterwards.

“It is tough to say he will definitely win a Group One, but his homework has always been to a level that means he is right up there and I would like to think he can tick that box.”

Anmaat

“He has only just arrived back in the yard so he is probably not quite as far forward as Alflaila so you are probably going to be looking at June time before we start him. I would love him to have a bit of a longer season.

"He was in really good form before the Eclipse, and I’m not going to say he would have beaten Paddington or Emily Upjohn, but he would have been up there with them. When things fall right for him there is another decent pot for him. It presented like a foot abscess what he had, but it turned out to be quite a complex issue.

"He has been back cantering a month back at Shadwell. We will build him up and see where we are. It would be great to think he could also go for a Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, and it is a nice problem to have. There are also a few races abroad for him. He has probably got a bit more speed than Alflaila and I wouldn’t be rushing to go further than a mile and a quarter.”

Deira Mile

“I was very fortunate to get him, and he has done well over the winter. I plan to start him at Nottingham on Wednesday if the meeting is on. It was bottomless at Doncaster, and he got through that. It would be nice to make him a winner then we will look towards a Derby trial as he has got some fancy entries next to his name.

"Fingers crossed he can get his head in front and then move forward. We all know Ahmad Al Shaikh has been knocking on the door in the Derby and he is not afraid to have a shot with an outsider, and he has not been too far wrong. Hopefully this horse will be another that we can get there on the day and see what we can do."

Game Set

“He looked quite promising in his first two runs, and I thought he would go in the soft ground at Doncaster, but he never went a yard on it and I could never get him right after that. He has had a nice long break and we have gelded him. He is not far off starting fast work now.

"He doesn’t need to improve too much to be a nice Saturday handicap horse. Hopefully we can have a clear run with him, but we will keep him off soft ground. He lacks a bit of experience so I would look to a 0-90 or 0-95 to start with then hopefully he might be able to slot into the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot or the Hunt Cup. He should be a nice fun horse."

Hosaamm

“I love this horse. I liked his attitude at Salisbury as he got headed then battled back. He was a big raw horse that I wanted to give a second run to, but a few of those meetings on the turf at the back end were abandoned and I didn’t want to run him on the all-weather.

"He has done very well physically. He had a minor blip six weeks ago so I’m probably a couple of weeks where I would have been ideally.

"I’ve given him an Irish Derby entry, and an entry in the Grand Prix de Paris. It would be nice if he could be that good and compete in one of those. We will start him off in a mile and a quarter novice first, but I think he could be a really nice horse.

"He did plenty of work with Deira Mile at the end of last year and physically he has done great. Potentially, he could be a very nice horse.”

Jarraaf

“He is a big Zoustar colt that did well to win from a high draw first time out at Kempton. The third has since won and been Listed placed, which is good to see. He was a big raw horse at two, and I put him away after that. He has done well over the winter. I’m not sure if he is an out and out sprinter and he might just fall into the seven furlong category.

“I’m not going to jump into anything too flash. I will run him in another novice with a penalty, whether that is over six or seven furlongs we will see how he is over the next few weeks.

“He had shown up well before the Kempton win, but as soon as he jumped well and got in a good position I thought he wouldn’t be too far away.

“I’ve been pleased with his work so far, but no buttons have been pressed yet. He could possibly be a Jersey horse if he is not a sprinter. If he is good enough for the Commonwealth Cup then great, but if not something like the Jersey might suit him."

Miaharris

“She didn’t do too much wrong last year. She has probably not grown much, but she has filled out, and strengthened.

"It is important to try and make her a Group winner as she is already a Listed winner. She might start back at Bath in the Listed Lansdown Stakes against the older fillies, which can be tough but she needs to start somewhere. There is then a Group Three at Chantilly in the middle of May against the colts.

"The owner is keen to get a few broodmares, and if we could make her a Group winner that will be the target with her. I think she wants six furlongs personally, and the race at Chantilly is over that. She didn’t like the fast ground at Sailsbury the last time she ran over six, plus she was drawn out wide, so you can put a line through that. The Bath run should hopefully knock the cobwebs away and put her spot on for France.”

Raqiya

“She didn’t do a lot wrong last year. Jim felt she didn’t handle the tacky ground in the Group Three at Ayr on her final start.

"I will probably run her in the Listed Chelmer Fillies’ Stakes over six furlong fillies at Chelmsford in May. I see her being all about speed, and when James Doyle won on her at Haydock he said she was all speed.

"She looked good at Haydock as she sauntered through quite nicely. She was a bit raw, and unfurnished last year, but she looks the part now. Fingers crossed we can get some black type with her.”

Remmooz

“He is a Blue Point colt of Sheikh Ahmed’s which cost 250,000 guineas at Tattersalls book one sale last year. He is quite a big sort of horse that will want a bit of time, but he is a good moving horse and I like what I see at the moment.

"He will be one for the second part of the summer when we finally see him on the racetrack.”

Rowayeh

“She has been kept in training which is nice as she is the first four year old filly I’ve had stay in training. She won well at Beverley and Sandown last season, and she ran well at Goodwood from a high draw on soft ground.

"I do feel she is a mile and a quarter filly, but she does need to relax. At York, over an extended mile and a quarter, she pulled quite hard, but what impressed me was that she just kept plugging on so I think she will stay.

“We will start her back at a mile, and she may fall into the category that a strongly run mile might suit her. There is a mile fillies’ handicap at Ascot on May 1st, and that is what I have got pencilled in for her, but the plan is to get some black type as that is why she has been kept in training.

“She is a big strong filly that wouldn’t need to improve much to make a mark at a higher level if we can get her to drop her head.”

Serviceman

“He is by Wootton Bassett, and he cost 320,000 so he was not cheap, but he is a lovely horse for the same connections that own War Rooms.

“He is another that will be out in the second part of the season, but he is a strong solid horse. He has had a bit of a foot abscess which we are on top of now. He has a good mind, which is always good to see in a youngster."

So Moonstruck

“He has not run since the German Derby in 2022, but he is in his conditioning cantering work at the moment.

"He is a good looking horse that moves well. Fingers crossed he stays sound, but I’m sure we will be looking at stakes races with him, where that will be I’m not sure. He hasn’t done any fast work yet, and he won’t be ready until the second half of May.

"He might start back over a mile and a quarter first time out, but we will see how he is at the time. He has been placed in a Group Three, and a Group Two and he was only beaten two short heads in the German Derby so he is a talented horse that we are lucky to have."

Tarjeeh

“He is lightly raced, but he has won two of his three starts and is now rated 90. He only had the one run last year over an extended mile at Wolverhampton where he got up in the final strides to win.

“Off his mark there might be a nice handicap in him. The plan is to give him a run over a mile and a quarter in the middle of May.

“He is delicate as you can see by the fact that he has only ever had three runs, and he has got his issues, but I think he is a smart horse."

War Rooms

“I think he just got a bit sleepy in the Flying Scotsman at Doncaster, and it was probably my fault not giving him another run in between. I half felt he forgot what he was about at Doncaster. I always felt he was a miler last year, and possibly in that grade of race he found everything happening a little bit quick for him over seven furlongs.

“What pleased me was that once he got inside that last furlong was how he hit the line strong. He has done very well through the winter and he has some fancy entries. I’m contemplating running him in the Classic Trial at Sandown. He is such a well balanced horse with a good mind on him. We need to see where we are with him sooner rather than later.

"He was purchased to be a Derby horse, and he is in both the French Derby and English Derby.

“At Sandown we will learn which way we are going, but the owners have intimated he doesn’t have to go to Epsom and that he could go to France instead. I kept him off fast ground last year, but that was me minding him.

"Oisin (Murphy) has been in and ridden him in work this year, as well as Jim, and he said he will be fine on better ground. I’m excited about him this season."

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