Hugo Palmer back on the Gold trail

When discussions take place surrounding who will be a champion trainer of the future, the name Hugo Palmer is one that comes up more often than not.Since starting out back in 2011, the Newmarket-based handler has enjoyed a rise nothing short of meteoric to become one of the brightest prospects among the training ranks.Having enjoyed his first Classic winner with Covert Love in the 2015 Irish Oaks, last season saw Galileo Gold provide Palmer with an inaugural 2000 Guineas triumph.With his stable star still in training, Palmer has high hopes the Al Shaqab Racing-owned son of Paco Boy can continue to work his magic on the track.He said: "He is very happy and much more relaxed than he was. He hasn't grown, but he has developed and is more muscular."This year I think he will be campaigned more sparingly. We won't rush to travel him and the obvious point to start is the Lockinge."The programme of Lockinge, Queen Anne, Sussex looks pretty obvious to start with."I've got no concerns about having him ready first time unless he changes as he is a lot more relaxed."I can't see any reason to try him further at the moment unless in his racing he starts to look like he needs further."If he gets beaten in the Lockinge and Frankie Dettori comes back in and said the horse has changed and that he wants a mile a quarter then we would run him in the Prince of Wales's and not the Queen Anne."He is quite a strong-travelling horse. I remain to be convinced that he would really settle over a mile and a quarter."With one British Classic already in safe-keeping, Palmer's focus could this season be on the Derby as Royal Lodge winnerBest Of Days is a 25-1 shot to taste victory at Epsom. He said: "Best Of Days is by Azamour and out of a mare that won a Listed race over a mile and a half."I think he is guaranteed to not only to stay but be at his best at a mile and a half, which is what we think we saw as a two-year-old."I think because he is a high-class horse he travels very well, and I think over a mile he struggles to have that turn of foot. James Doyle did a magnificent job to get the best of him in the Royal Lodge."He has been given a Guineas entry. It is often said the Guineas is a very good trial for the Derby. My feeling is that I'd prefer him to win a trial rather than finish sixth in a Guineas. He will be given a Dante entry."I like Lingfield, though, for the fact it's a furlong further than York and the fact they have to come downhill."That's my feeling where we will go with him."Crimean Tatar perfectly fits the horses-that-could-be-anything categoryjudged by the manner in which he won a Listed event at Kempton in November on just his second career start. Palmer said: "He fractured his knee as a two-year-old and it is probably for that reason we pitched him into stakes company from his maiden because there is plenty of metal in his knee, because of that I don't know how long he is going to stay sound."I think that is what makes him so exciting, that he won a stakes race on his second start which is all very well for a two-year-old over six furlongs, but for a three-year-old to beat older seasoned horses over a mile and a half takes some doing."Having fallen out the stalls and been last to quicken up the way he quickened was very exciting. He doesn't show us a lot at home, again there is the suspicion we may have only scratched the surface with him."He could be a Gold Cup horse but at the end of the day he showed such a remarkable turn of foot at a mile and a half. He is going to start all being well in the John Porter at Newbury. If he were to win that I think we would then go to the Hardwicke."The availability of champion jockey Jim Crowley - a key component in Palmer's successful season last year - is likely to be restricted as he is the new retained rider to Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.But Palmer has been quick to secure the services of last year's champion apprentice Josephine Gordon.He said: "The jockey situation will continue to be what it has been in that I will use the best available but, at the same time, I've always looked for some consistency."That's what we managed to find with Jim Crowley last year, which we won't be able to have this year. That said, I think Jim will ride for the yard when he can."I also think that James Doyle is an extraordinary talent and provided that he comes back from Australia I will use him an enormous amount as well."Josephine knows at this stage she is probably not going to have first pick on every single day."When we chatted about her coming on board I made it clear she will often ride horses to win their maiden and second races and then someone else will ride them on the big day."That said, as the yard gets bigger there is more and more opportunities and the good races are often on the same day as each other."While she might not necessarily have first pick of them she will be riding in those Group races - she is not just here to ride the maidens and handicappers."She is fully part of the team."