Toormore team calm ahead of big day Middleham Park racing manager Tim Palin insists the team are not feeling any pressure ahead of Toormore's bid for Classic glory in the Qipco 2000 Guineas this afternoon. The Richard Hannon-trained Arakan colt was champion two-year-old after winning each of his three starts last year, completing his hat-trick with a brilliant display in the National Stakes at the Curragh in September. He was a workmanlike winner of last month's Craven Stakes over the Guineas course and distance and carries an unbeaten record into the Group One assignment, but connections admit he is likely to face a far sterner test against Kingman and Australia. Palin said: "I don't think any of us are feeling any pressure, to be honest. There's certainly no pressure on Richard Hughes or Toormore. After Kingman won the Greenham Stakes at Newbury the way he did, all of the pressure was taken off our shoulders. "If Kingman is the next Frankel we're not going to beat him and if Australia really is the best horse Aidan O'Brien has ever trained, as people are suggesting, we're not going to beat him either. "Toormore cost £36,000, he was champion two-year-old and is lining up in a 2000 Guineas with a fighting chance. That in itself is a dream come true. I think it looks one of the better 2000 Guineas of recent years and it looks as though it will be a pivotal moment in the champion three-year-old miler division." Palin is confident Toormore will run to a level capable of winning most renewals of the season's opening Classic, but is unsure whether that will be good enough. "Our horse is a course and distance winner returning to the scene of the crime, and what you see is what you get with him," he went on. "He clocked a very good time in the Craven, a time that was good enough to win 132 of 135 renewals of the 2000 Guineas. Two of the faster times were on good to firm ground and the other one was Zafonic's win in 1993. "Toormore has a strong back catalogue of times and while I'm not really a times guru, a bad horse cannot clock good times. He's certainly a very quick horse, we know he stays after winning the Craven and we know he handles the track. I think we can be reasonably confident about what we'll get from our horse. If one of the others is better, then so be it." Toormore is one of three runners for Hannon, with the trainer also saddling Greenham Stakes runner-up Night Of Thunder and Free Handicap winner Shifting Power. He told his website: "The Craven definitely knocked the rust off Toormore and he will be a lot sharper this time. He will never be as spectacular as Canford Cliffs or Toronado, but he is a very good galloper with no complications, and the Rowley Mile brings out the best in him. "Night Of Thunder should not be underestimated. He has gears and, though he was well beaten by Kingman in the Greenham, he is definitely better than that. The favourite had the run of the race at Newbury, but our fellow will improve for the extra furlong, and we feel Kieren Fallon's style will suit him. "Similarly, we think Shifting Power, a big colt who was always going to make a better three-year-old, can progress again. He showed plenty of spirit to win the Free Handicap and will also appreciate the step up to a mile. He is unbeaten and we don't know how good he is."
