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    Hannon pair prepared to pursue the Classic trophy at the Curragh
Hannon pair prepared to pursue the Classic trophy at the Curragh
Hannon. Source: geegeez.co.uk

Hannon pair prepared to pursue the Classic trophy at the Curragh

After finishing second and third in the Newmarket event, Rosallion and Haatem will compete for Guineas compensation at the Curragh.

Richard Hannon is the trainer of both colts, who made notable debuts as young horses when Haatem won the Group Two Vintage Stakes at Goodwood and Rosallion won the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Paris-Longchamp in a time record.

All 2000 Guineas competitors, though, entered the race in the shadow of City of Troy, following his perfect two-year-old season, Aidan O'Brien's undefeated colt was treated with the highest regard.

His failure to compete in any kind of race caused that bubble to burst rapidly, and Charlie Appleby's Notable Speech was the catalyst that turned his all-weather form into a Classic victory for Godolphin.

Rosallion trailed him brilliantly in second place, losing by a length and a half, while Haatem proved himself vindicated after his harsh dismissal of the Craven victory with a third-place finish at 16-1 odds.

After handling their Newmarket efforts well, both of Hannon's colts will now aim for the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday.

“I’m very happy with both of them, they’ve come out of the race well,” the trainer said.

“Both of them have worked well yesterday and now they’re on target for the Curragh. They did run very good races at Newmarket, both of them did, and this is hopefully a chance for them to get some compensation.”

After the weekend, Royal Ascot is probably going to be in the spotlight, but the two colts might not meet at that race because Haatem might be ready for a step up in distance.

“I don’t think they will (cross paths), Haatem after this, it might go up to a mile and a quarter,” Hannon confirmed.

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