Toormore crowned European champion Richard Hannon's National Stakes winner Toormore has been crowned champion two-year-old in the European Thoroughbred Rankings. Owned by Middleham Park Racing, Toormore won each of his three starts in 2013, completing his hat-trick with a most impressive display in the Group One at the Curragh in September. He ended his juvenile campaign with a top rating of 122 and is a best priced 10-1 for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in May. The son of Arakan is now officially in the care of Hannon's son, Richard junior, who took over the licence on New Year's Day. Toormore is rated 2lb below Dawn Approach's mark of 124 when he was crowned champion juvenile after winning each of his six starts at two in 2012. Middleham Park racing manager Tim Palin said: "It's a bit of a miracle, to be honest. I still can't quite believe it. When you think how many yearlings go to the sales, you've probably got a one-in-10,000 chance of getting a champion. "Then you think most of the best ones go for £500,000, £1million or £2million, so to get a champion for £36,000 is virtually impossible. It just shows that relatively small owners like us have got a chance. Maybe they should have announced he was the champion juvenile on December 25, as that's the time of year when miracles are meant to happen! "I went to see him just before Christmas and he looks absolutely magnificent. We haven't given him a break as such. He's just been ticking over and everyone is very happy with him. We brought him to a peak three times last year and we'll probably do the same four or five times this season. "He has really strengthened up behind the saddle, in his shoulders and his withers and it's only halfway through the winter. As long as the weather holds up, he has time to strengthen up some more yet. "We've spoken with Richard Hannon and I think we've decided we'll go straight to the Guineas, unless Richard Hughes or whoever is riding him in early April thinks he will benefit from a race. "If that's the case, he would probably go for the Greenham at Newbury, but at the moment we're leaning towards going straight for the big one at Newmarket. He's a very clean-winded horse and it's a long season. We still want him to be at the peak of his powers in October." Second in the juvenile list behind Toormore on a figure of 120 is the Roger Varian-trained Kingston Hill, who won his three outings in little over a month, culminating in a dominant display in Doncaster's Racing Post Trophy in late October. He is also a 10-1 shot for the Guineas, as well as for the Epsom Derby. Wesley Ward's American star No Nay Never and Aidan O'Brien's War Command are joint third on 119. The latter was a brilliant winner of the Coventry Stakes at the Royal meeting and although he suffered defeat on his next start, he went on to win his next two, including the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. Jonathan Pease's Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Karakontie is next in on 118, ahead of Australia, Outstrip and top juvenile filly Chriselliam on 117. O'Brien's Australia, a son of Galileo out of Ouija Board, won twice from three starts in 2013, signing off with a smart performance at Leopardstown to take him to the head of ante-post lists for the Derby.
