Owen Burrows hoping for repeat of first Royal Ascot win at St Leger after Newbury triumph for Hukum

A season which began with a first Royal Ascot winner could conclude with a first St Leger runner for Lambourn trainer Owen Burrows who will prepare Hukum for the final Classic after his latest win at Newbury on Saturday.

The lightly raced three-year-old clinched his third win in four starts with an emphatic two-and-a-half lengths victory in the Group 3 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Geoffrey Freer Stakes.

“He was very impressive,” said Burrows. “He had never run in soft ground but he handled it fine. He has strengthened as the year has gone on and we are very excited. I would have thought the St Leger would be on the cards.”

Burrows was working as assistant to Sir Michael Stoute when the Newmarket trainer clinched his one and only victory in the Doncaster race with Conduit in 2008.

He is in his fifth season training exclusively for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and his family are enjoying a fine run with Hukum becoming the stable’s fifth win from 10 runners.

“We didn’t have a great year last year,” said Burrows. “We changed things up a little bit. I was fortunate early on to have Massaat, who was placed in the 2,000 Guineas, but this horse has to be among the best I have trained in terms of class.”

A difficult week for Sir Michael Stoute, during which his long-time partner Coral Pritchard-Gordon died after a long illness, ended with an impressive victory in the feature Group 2 Unibet Hungerford Stakes with Dream Of Dreams.

Runner-up in the last two editions of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, he proved a different class over seven furlongs, storming to a seven-lengths victory.

Stoute’s assistant James Horton said: “This will mean a lot. It’s a very sad time at Freemason Lodge. Coral was a rock for everyone in the yard, the boss more than anyone. It’s been a tough week and this is a very poignant winner.”

Frankie Dettori’s decision to ride in France this weekend has forced him to miss the four-day York because he will have to self-isolate at home on his return following a change to coronavirus travel advice.

But he was able to celebrate after clinching victory on Mishriff in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville where he will stop over to partner Palace Pier in Monday's mile feature, the Prix Jacques Le Marois.

“Mishriff and Palace Pier are two stable stars and I decided to swallow the quarantine and come here and take my chance,” he said. “At least half the job is done. Let’s hope we can get the other half done.

“For elite sportsmen they have changed the quarantine rule from 14 to eight days, so I am prolonging my stay in Deauville to ride next weekend. There’s nothing to rush back for at home at the moment and it’s not a bad place to spend a week.”