Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) has been ruled out of Sunday's G1 Preis von Europa at Cologne due to a minor setback, it was announced on Thursday.
Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, Goliath has been off the track since his shock 25-1 victory in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July, with prominent American owner John Stewart subsequently purchasing a majority share in the four-year-old from Philip Baron von Ullmann.
Goliath had been set for a rematch with King George third Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Cologne, but his connections will now have to consider other options as they plot a path to the G1 Japan Cup at Tokyo on Sunday, November 24.
Von Ullmann told www.galopponline.de, “This morning I received a call from trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, who told me that Goliath had developed a small foot abscess after his final work.
“It's nothing long-term, but safety comes first and we don't think it's right to let him run in Cologne if he's not at 100 per cent and is causing the horse additional discomfort. Animal welfare is always our top priority.
“John and I were really looking forward to running in Cologne and he was planning to fly from America to Cologne, but that's horse racing. We're still aiming for the Japan Cup, but we'll have to see what the exact plan is now.”
Graffard still hopes to give Goliath a prep run before his planned trip to Japan.
“He has a foot abscess and was not 100 per cent, so we won't take any risks any with him,” said the trainer. “I'll have to look at the programme book and see. Hopefully, we'll have one run before he can go to Japan.”
Graffard was able to provide a more positive update on star three-year-old Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who is on course for a heavyweight clash with Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) in the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, October 19. He was last seen filling the runner-up spot behind City Of Troy (Justify) in the G1 Juddmonte International at York.
“Calandagan is in top form and training to go to Ascot,” Graffard added.
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