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Richard Hannon has raised the possibility of Dick Turpin tackling 10 furlongs before too long.

The trainer has two of the very best three-year-old milers at his disposal, with Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs closely matched on three meetings already this season, and he would prefer the pair not to clash again in next Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

“I think Dick Turpin can go a mile and a quarter, but I don’t know where he would go at the moment. He is improving all the time,” said Hannon.

The John Manley-owned Dick Turpin beat Canford Cliffs, who belongs to a syndicate, in the Greenham Stakes and finished in front of his stablemate again when second in the 2000 Guineas. Canford Cliffs gained his revenge in the St James’s Palace, while Dick Turpin subsequently gained a deserved first Group One in the Prix Jean Prat.

Both looked on fine terms with themselves on Tuesday morning, with individual leg-stretches up one of Hannon’s gallops at Herridge.

“If they get rain, John will want to run at Goodwood,” said Hannon of Dick Turpin. “I don’t want them to meet again as they are two very good horses but they are owned by different people and I can’t keep them apart.

While a decision will have to be made about Dick Turpin, there is no doubt about Canford Cliffs’ destination and his trainer continued: “He runs in the Sussex. He is a lovely horse, very mature, and he has put on a lot of weight.

“I took him to Kempton on Monday and he worked over seven furlongs with one of The Queen’s horses, Quadrille.”

Hannon also revealed he is set to enjoy another season with his stable stars as both will race on as four-year-olds, with Canford Cliffs expected to take even higher order.

He contineed: “Both Canford Cliffs and Dick Turpin will stay in training as four-year-olds. He (Canford Cliffs) has improved beyond recognition and I am sure he is getting better. He is certainly going the way to be being the best horse I have ever trained.”