Royal Fixation

Trainer K R Burke, based in North Yorkshire and already responsible for 145 winners this season, has a horse he rates very highly indeed. The comments from rival trainer Ed Walker, who came up against Royal Fixation at Newmarket in July, paint a picture of genuine quality — he was "very proud" of how close his filly came to beating her, and noted that Royal Fixation's pedigree is "all speed", pure sprinting stock from a fast female line. At the top level, she has won one of her three Class 1 races, a 33 per cent win rate at that standard that underlines she belongs there. The yard clearly has big plans. References to Commonwealth Cup trials and the Cheveley Park Stakes suggest they are plotting a path through the season's most prestigious sprints, the kind of races where only the genuinely quick survive. A filly who has just raced yesterday and is described as still "green off the bridle" — meaning she hasn't fully figured out how to win yet — could yet develop into something genuinely special.