Burke lining up Royal Ascot team packed with promise

PA Sport Reporters
May 30, 2022 3:19 pm

Dramatised is a leading contender for North Yorkshire yard.

Karl Burke is excited to send what he believes his strongest ever team to Royal Ascot next month.

The Spigot Lodge handler is enjoying an excellent season and appears to have a particularly formidable squad of juvenile fillies on his hands.

Leading that particular group is Dramatised, who made a huge impression when making a successful start to her career at Newmarket. She is likely to be joined on the trip south by Pillow Talk and Yahsat – first and second in the Marygate Stakes at York – as well as Musselburgh debut winner Cathy Come Home.

Burke’s best three-year-old looks to be El Caballo, who notched his sixth win from seven career starts in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock and is a leading contender for the Commonwealth Cup.

El Caballo advertised his big-race claims at Haydock (Richard Sellers/PA)

Speaking after saddling newcomer Brazen to win the opening race at Redcar on Monday, Burke told Racing TV: “It’ll probably be the strongest team that we’ve sent down there on paper.

“Dramatised looks in great shape along with, luckily, three or four other very nice fillies ready to go there. The hardest thing will be trying to split them up, I think.

“El Caballo is in brilliant form and goes for the Commonwealth Cup, Yahsat will go for the Queen Mary and then we’ve got Pillow Talk. I’m not sure which race she’ll go for yet as it’s a lot of the same owners and I think they’ll all have multiple entries and we’ll pick nearer the time.

“Cathy Come Home is a very smart filly.”