Roger Charlton has tentatively identified the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville as the next “serious possibility” for his exciting miler Cityscape.
Due to his preference for some give in the ground, the five-year-old has not been seen in competitive action quite as much as connections would have liked this season.
After chasing home Dick Turpin at his first start at Sandown, the son of Selkirk ran the race of his life to place third behind Canford Cliffs and Goldikova in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot.
He has missed subsequent engagements due to ground conditions but his trainer is now looking forward to a trip across the Channel.
“It’s so hard with horses like him. He really wants decent ground to work on and it has dried up a bit here again,” Charlton said.
“The Prix Jacques le Marois is a possible for him in a couple of weeks, we’ll just have to see how it goes. That race is the next serious possibility I think, but I wouldn’t put it any stronger than that.”
Charlton did give Cityscape an entry in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October, where traditionally conditions would be in his favour.
But with his owner Khalid Abdullah already having identified the race for his brilliant unbeaten colt Frankel, Cityscape looks an unlikely participant.
“It may be that an autumn campaign is what we wait for. I was thinking the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes might be the race for him until I heard that is where Frankel is going, which I think will put us out of the way,” Charlton said.
PA AAP TURF
