Henry Cecil's Picture Editor will bid to advertise his Derby claims at Newmarket on Saturday.
Classic hope takes in juvenile stamina test
Henry Cecil's Picture Editor will bid to advertise his Derby claims at Newmarket on Saturday.
Prince Khalid Abdullah's much-vaunted homebred Dansili colt is on target to contest the bet365 Zetland Conditions Stakes over 10 furlongs on Saturday afternoon.
Cecil won the contest with subsequent dual Champion Stakes hero Twice Over back in 2007, and will hope Picture Editor can follow suit as he steps up in grade.
Picture Editor is unbeaten in two starts so far and is already prominent in the ante-post betting for next year's Epsom Classic.
The colt cruised to a 30-length victory over the distance at Leicester earlier this month, having defeated Nathaniel by a short-head on debut at Doncaster in September.
Promising
Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager to Prince Khalid, said: "Picture Editor is fine, he won a nice maiden at Doncaster and then won uncontested at Leicester. He has come on and he is a promising horse, there is no question about that. Obviously, it is a case of little steps at the moment.
"His dam, Shirley Valentine, won over a mile and half, and there is plenty of stamina in the family."
Other interesting contenders among the 14 entries are the £500,000 Tattersalls Millions 2YO Trophy runner-up Pisco Sour, Godolphin's Shooting Gallery and Group Three Solario Stakes runner-up Measuring Time, from the Richard Hannon yard.
Cecil and Abdullah also have a strong candidate in Saturday's Listed bet365 James Seymour Stakes with Timepiece primed for the 10-furlong contest.
The Zamindar three-year-old landed the Listed Sandringham Handicap over a mile at Royal Ascot in June, and returned from a long summer break to finish second over the course and distance in the Listed Lanwades Stud Severals Stakes on Champions' Day.
Lord Grimthorpe commented: "Timepiece was coming off a break so we were quite pleased with her that day. I just think it took a bit of time for her to get into gear. She has been in good form since the race, so hopefully this will put her back on track.
"She won over a mile at Ascot, but that is a good, stiff mile, and it was 10 furlongs last time, so I think she wants a strongly run race."
