Godolphin may step Delegator up in trip for the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood after his unfortunate run in the July Cup.
The five-year-old appeared to have the perfect draw at Newmarket in stall 17 but after Brae Hill ploughed a lone furrow up the stands side to win the Bunbury Cup in the race before, connections knew their fate and he ran well to finish fifth.
Having returned to sprinting with a good win in the Duke of York Stakes, he was forced to miss the Golden Jubilee on account of the soft ground.
He also has options in France and at Haydock, but whether the ground will be suitable is a big consideration for the Saeed bin Suroor-trained entire.
“He could run in the Lennox at Goodwood next week,” Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said.
“He’s been such an unlucky horse. He was second to Sea The Stars in the Guineas and has been difficult to keep right.
“We knew our fate at Newmarket after the Bunbury Cup. Frankie (Dettori) knew all the other jockeys would leave him stranded.
“He had a wart on his pastern that took nearly six months to clear up and then when we took him out to the Breeders’ Cup last year he picked up a quarter-crack on his hoof.
“I don’t think he likes training on the artificial surfaces out there so he might not go out there again.
“If he doesn’t go to Goodwood the options are the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville and the Haydock Sprint Cup, but whether he’d get his ground at either of those is debatable.”
If Delegator does run at Goodwood, he may face two from the Richard Hannon yard in the shape of Strong Suit and Libranno.
“We could run both Strong Suit and Libranno in the Lennox Stakes, though the latter might well be kept back for the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville,” Hannon said on his website.
“Strong Suit ran a cracker in France last time and the drop back in trip should suit him.
“He has always been one of our stars and the wind operation that he had after the Greenham at Newbury seems to have worked, so I’d like to think that he’d have a big chance.”
PA AAP TURF
