Juddmonte have an embarrassment of riches as three of their Classic crop have put themselves in contention for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in recent weeks.
First off the blocks was Cosmic Verse, trained by Harry Charlton, who took his career record to two from two with a dominant display in a novice at Kempton Park but as exciting as Cosmic Verse appears, there is more substance to the claims of both Jonquil and Field Of Gold.
Jonquil made his debut for Andrew Balding in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury at the weekend and kept on well to win the seven furlong Group 3 by a length and a half from the smart juvenile Rashabar. Connections would not immediately be drawn on running plans with Field Of Gold due to make his own return a few days later and he could hardly have been more impressive.
John and Thady Gosden's colt was sent off as favourite for the Craven Stakes at Newmarket and showed his rivals a clean pair of heels to win by three and a half lengths, a performance that impressed Juddmonte's Barry Mahon.
"They obviously jumped out and didn't go very quick, and the Godolphin horse beside him was very, very free but he relaxed into it," Mahon told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast.
"He was a little keen at Longchamp when we last seen him. He relaxed and settled well and definitely the turn of foot in the last furlong was very impressive."
Mahon, however, would not be drawn on confirming that Field Of Gold would definitely take his chance in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
"You'd hope so but at the end of the day the owners spend a lot of money, they bought this horse as a foal for a lot of money," he said.
"They're the ones paying the bills so we'll have to sit down with them in a week's time and see what they want to do. The'll have a strong opinion themselves and I know they were very excited watching the race so I'm sure they'll come to a conclusion in a week's time."
Juddmonte and their trainers have some big discussions ahead of them in attempting to navigate the right path for their exciting colts but Mahon was in no mood to tilt at windmills.
"We have to run them in the race that's suitable for them," he continued. "I think if you start getting into trying to win three Guineas, it's hard enough to win one, let alone three. So I think we have to put them we think is more suitable for the horse and what the trainer thinks will work best and we'll go from there.
"I think Jonquil will want fast ground so that will be a factor wherever he goes. Harry's horse is lacking in experience, that's his biggest drawback at this stage of his life. He's only two runs in novices which is not easy to win a Classic off that, so maybe something smaller, big track, small field, something like that might suit him a bit better rather than a hustle and bustle with a lot of runners.
"Harry has said he doesn't want the ground too fast so that'll have an impact on him. But it's a lovely problem to have. We can go baby steps and go to the Heron at Sandown if the owners and trainer feel that's the right thing to do and, if not, we can take a shot at one of the Guineas."
Although leaning towards running Cosmic Verse in quieter waters, Mahon is convinced that Cosmic Verse has what it takes to dine at the top table, saying: "We do [think he's a Group 1 horse] at this stage but until you step into the better races, you're never sure.
"He's won two novices in devastating fashion but it's a long way from winning the St James's Palace. Until he steps into that sort of territory we'll never know but I think the promise is there; he's hugely exciting and the indicators are pointing us towards that he could be a very good horse."
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