By Daithi Harvey
Karl Burke has proven himself not only a world class trainer but also an esteemed judge of a yearling and he can bask in the glory of yet another job well done after Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) dug deep to land the G1 Longines Prix de Diane at Chantilly last Sunday. Burke and his team now have the enviable task of plotting the next step in the journey of the John Dance-owned filly who has banked over £1.1 million in prize-money already in just seven starts.
“The obvious next step is to step her up in trip,” Burke told At The Races on Monday. “I'm pretty sure we'll go for the [G1] Yorkshire Oaks [in August] now, I'll give her a two or three week break and miss the Irish Oaks. That seems to make sense as then we've got an autumn campaign. If we go to the Irish Oaks she won't have a chance to get a proper break.”
Some pundits voiced concerns before Chantilly on Sunday that Laurens may have been vulnerable to fresher opponents given her schedule so far this season. While Burke held few fears on that score he does feel a quiet spell now could help yield more success later in the season. “She's had three Group 1 in six weeks, she's travelled down by road to France twice and I think we're all pretty keen to give her a break. If we don't freshen her up now, we could pay for that in the autumn.”
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