Touleen and Zanthos to light up Leicester on Tuesday

Exciting juvenile fillies Touleen and Zanthos are set for a fascinating midweek clash in the Gascare Services EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes at Leicester.

The Owen Burrows-trained Touleen looked the part when making a successful start to her career at Newbury last month, as did Simon and Ed Crisford’s Zanthos, who justified odds-on favouritism with a smooth debut victory on Newmarket’s July course.

Both hold upcoming big-race entries in the Rockfel Stakes and the Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket and their connections are likely to have a clearer idea of where they are heading after they meet on Tuesday.

Burrows, who has booked William Buick to replace the injured Jim Crowley aboard Touleen, said: “She’s fine after her first start, her work has been pleasing and she did it well at Newbury.

“I don’t think there are any easy novice races as this time of the year. Obviously it would have been nice if we could have swerved that one (Zanthos), but it is what it is.

“We’ll have to take on nice ones at some stage, at least they’ve both got a penalty and we’ll see where we stand.”

Zanthos will carry the colours of the newly-formed Victorious Forever partnership for the first time and racing manager Chris Wall said: “Our original plan was to go straight into a stakes race, but the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood was always going to come a bit too soon for her.

“We toyed with the idea of running her against the boys in the Solario, but then the ground came up soft at Sandown, so that was never going to happen.

“Simon and Ed were keen to get another run into her before she tackled anything else and while we originally thought there was no need to go back in another novice, actually this race fits into her programme very well and it looks like Leicester have avoided the rain so we’ll have decent ground.

“She’s in good heart and hopefully she can show a nice progression from her debut run. She’s in the Rockfel and the Fillies’ Mile and that’s where we’d like to end up if all goes well.”