Classic hero Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who won the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the end of June, will be freshened after his unplaced run in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. on Saturday. A winner of the G3 bet365 Classic Trial in his seasonal debut in April, the Juddmonte colourbearer ran third in the G1 Cazoo Derby for trainer Ralph Beckett. The bay set a contested pace in the King George.
“I think it just wasn't our day,” said Barry Mahon, general manager for Juddmonte. “As we had said prior to the race, we were a little nervous coming into it on the back of being to Epsom and the Curragh and it was a tight enough timescale with such a horse.
“He got a bit warm in the prelims and a little excited and then in the parade ring he got in behind Emily Upjohn (GB (Sea The Stars {Ire}), which wasn't ideal.
“Then the race just didn't pan out in our favour. There wasn't a lot of pace and Westover was a little bit keen so we got left in front. It just wasn't ideal and wasn't our day.
“He'll have a good rest now, I spoke to Ralph this morning and the horse has come out of it fine. He has a couple of little overreaches on his hind leg where maybe in the first furlong or two when he crossed over to the rail something caught him from behind, but all just superficial.”
A G1 St Leger bid at Doncaster is under consideration, as well as possible appearances in the G2 Prix Niel and G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Tromphe, but connections will take a patient approach.
“That's [the St Leger is] definitely on the agenda,” Mahon continued. “And also all the other middle-distance races such as the Prix Niel and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and whatever else, but the horse is going to tell us where and when.
“We'll give him a good rest now and freshen him up for the autumn. We probably won't even talk about a race for probably a month until we've seen how he is and then we'll start working towards something at that stage.
“He's trained great all season and one of his biggest attributes has been his calm, relaxed nature and we saw on Saturday that we'd probably just pushed him far enough and he was beginning to get warm beforehand, he just needs a rest now and we'll regroup for the autumn.”
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