17 Abr. GB. Craven S. G3. Newmarket. 8f. Turf. 50.000 £
1.- TWICE OVER (T.Durcan)
2.- RAVEN'S PASS (J.Fortune)
3.- THE BOGBERRY (J.Murtagh)


Twice Over is second favourite for the 2,000 Guineas and Derby after maintaining his unbeaten record in the Banshahousestables.com Craven Stakes at Newmarket yesterday, but he could conceivably contest neither Classic.

The Khalid Abdullah-owned colt fought back strongly to hold Raven's Pass by a short head, the pair pulling six lengths clear of the third, to give trainer Henry Cecil his first win in the Classic trial since King's Theatre in 1994.

Yet while Raven's Pass booked a place on the Rowley Mile on May 3, immediate plans are less certain for Twice Over, whose connections believe he could be a specialist at 1m2f and therefore less equipped to tackle the challenge of either the 2,000 Guineas, for which he is 9-2 with the sponsors Stan James, or the Vodafone Derby.

York's Totesport.com Dante Stakes on May 15, over 1m2f, remains high on the list of potential targets, but the option of a tilt at the Guineas, in which King's Theatre finished 13th behind Mister Baileys, was left open by an uncertain Cecil after yesterday's victory over the Classic course and distance.

"I'm not sure he just doesn't want a little bit further," he said. "He might be a Dante horse. I will leave it the 2,000 Guineas open. He is not a definite runner. We will just see how he comes out of this and feel our way and he will tell us.
"He is a lovely horse and does everything right, and if you take the second away he has won very easily.
I'm very pleased with him because he is just ready for a race. Hopefully he will improve as he was not exactly tuned up. In my mind, I'm just not sure about his target. I don't want to go and ruin him in a race."

Ted Durcan, riding Twice Over for the first time, took the colt into the lead over a furlong out. They were headed by Raven's Pass at the furlong pole but, although both edged right, Twice Over fought back to get up on the line. The Bogberry was six lengths back in third with River Proud fourth.

Both the first and second are now 5-1 with William Hill and Coral for the Guineas, while Twice Over is a top-priced 6-1 for the Derby, leaving Cecil, Abdullah and the owner's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe with much to consider over the next fortnight.

"It would be difficult to win a Guineas trial and not go for the Guineas, but the long-term future of the horse must be taken into consideration and he might be a mile-and-a-quarter, mile-and-a-half horse," said Grimthorpe.

"I've said all along that I thought a mile and a quarter would be his business. His sire Observatory got nine furlongs but not much further.

He's out of a mare who won an Oaks trial. Henry knows how to train these horses and I think we would go with whatever he feels, and it depends what the prince wants to do as well.

"We always said we would go to this and take a look, and then he would end up possibly in the Dante.
We would then take a look again and see if it is Epsom or Chantilly for the French Derby. We have to give him a chance to be a Derby horse if he is.
There is a reasonable amount of stamina in the pedigree, but it is not pure staying blood. It has to be a question mark if you have a miler as a sire."

Raven's Pass delighted trainer John Gosden, who expects more from the colt in the 2,000 Guineas and on quicker ground.
"I wanted to run him over seven furlongs, but it would have been too soft in the Greenham," he said. "I've not been hard on him. He got a bit tired and the other horse nailed him on the line.
"They were six lengths clear, so I think it was a proper trial. He got keen in the middle of the race, but I was really happy because he was not fully wound up today."

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Perfect Stride was pulled out before the race after he was found with swelling to his hock.