By winning the bet365 Craven Stakes at Newmarket, racehorse Indestructible gave his partnership with Karl Burke the greatest possible start and paid Chaldean a nice compliment in the process.
Indestructible, who had previously been with Michael O’Callaghan in Ireland, was transferred by owners Amo Racing to Burke’s stables in Leyburn, and the move immediately paid off.
Richard Hannon’s Mammas Girl won the Nell Gwyn and, as a result, entered the running for the 1000 Guineas. Persian Dreamer also had a successful week, adding to the increasingly popular purple and white Amo silks’ remarkable performance.
In the Acomb Stakes at York and the Champagne at Doncaster last year, Andrew Balding’s Chaldean defeated Indestructible twice. He will compete in Saturday’s Greenham Stakes at Newbury.
“Thank goodness the horses have begun to show form. If you had been speaking to me two weeks ago, I would have been tearing out the last of my hair, but since then, things have come together,” said Burke.
“Just before Christmas, I received a call asking if we would accept him, and I was not going to say no to horses like him. We had a few minor physical issues with him after he came, but because of those issues, I’m confident he’s getting a solid blow today and will get better.
He has worked hard, especially over the last two weeks, and I couldn’t be happier. He became better with each race he completed before this one.”
