Hear the full interview
From 22:12 in Tuesday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Karl Burke says Royal Champion comes into Friday’s Bahrain International Trophy “a bit fresher” than last year, as he bids to defend his crown in the race’s first running as a Group 1.
Royal Champion won the race last year before landing the Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia and running in Hong Kong. “He looks in good shape, and I’m happy with him,” Burke told Nick Luck at the track. “We haven’t had a completely clear run with him through the summer, so he comes here a bit fresher than he did last year. We’ve done a little bit more with him this morning, so we’ll see how he comes out of that and what we do in the next 48 hours.”
Two years on the go
Burke explained that Royal Champion has been on the go for two years. “When he came to us a year ago last December, straight from Australia, he’d run through their winter there,” he said. “We ran him last winter in England and won the Winter Derby, raced him through the summer, then brought him out here last year. He won here, won in Saudi, then went to Hong Kong.”
“He didn’t come back in great shape from Hong Kong, so it’s been a bit patchy and a bit messy with the prep through the summer,” he added. “He ran a respectable race in the Strensall at York, which he’d won the year before, but got tired. He travelled like the winner to two out. We made a decision then to look after him for here, and for Saudi, hopefully.”
“Statistically it’s been our best year for winners and prize money, but it doesn’t feel like a good year.”
Karl Burke
‘A bit of a frustrating year’
Burke admitted the season has not felt as good as the numbers suggest. “Statistically, it’s been our best year for number of winners and for prize money, but it doesn’t feel like a good year,” he said. “We had the tragedy of losing Fallen Angel, and a lot of niggly injuries through the year. If I’m being brutally honest, I don’t think we’ve performed as well as we could have.”
He is looking forward to next year, though. “We’ve a lot of nice three-year-olds that haven’t had hard campaigns, and a lot of nice two-year-olds that haven’t even run this year,” he said. “So there’s a lot to look forward to, but it’s been a bit of a frustrating year.”
Miss Your Chance plans
Miss Your Chance ran well behind Bacio in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. “She was unbelievable. I think if it had been around Del Mar’s flat five and we’d had a better draw, you could argue we’d have been second,” Burke said. “She’s a real five-furlong filly, and he’s obviously an exceptional horse.”
“She’s come home and she’s having a little break now. There are no firm plans. Dubai’s been mentioned, Australia’s been mentioned, but she probably deserves a bit of a break,” he added. “Hopefully, if they keep her in training next year, she can be a powerful filly for the Nunthorpe. I’d have thought that would be her race.”
