Training operation Godolphin have unveiled a handful of quality two-year-olds this season but trainer James Cummings feels they will all need to take another step forward if they are to be considered legitimate G1 Blue Diamond Stakes contenders.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what level they can get to, but there have been some extremely impressive two-year-old performances outside of our own that have really been catching our attention,” Cummings told RSN927.
“Some of those horses that are at the top of the markets, they’re sort of setting the benchmark at the moment and we’ve got a couple of lengths here and there to be catching up to them, so we’ve got our work cut out.”
James Cummings remained measured in his assessment of impressive debut winner Picarones.
“She’s not the most brilliant two-year-old we have in training, but she’s got lots of scope and some strength about her,” he said.
“Everything she does suggests to us that she’s got the precocity to be an effective two-year-old, but she doesn’t have that click up brilliant speed to go through her gears so quickly.
“We could’ve been going around in a 1000m maiden in Sydney but fortunately we steered away from that path and gave her the opportunity to land in a six furlong (1200m) race first up, which suited her brilliantly.”
