Arc still the aim for ‘touch and go’ Azamour
The four-year-old strained a muscle in his quarters when finishing fifth in the Irish Champion Stakes last Saturday, putting into doubt his participation in the French showpiece.
Although Oxx admits it remains “touch and go” whether Azamour is ready for the October 2 event, he reports the Night Shift colt to be progressing nicely.
He told At The Races: “He’s OK and has responded well (to treatment) in the last couple of days.
“He’s been ridden out and had a quiet canter in the last couple of days and he’s perfectly sound. We just have to keep treating the problem area and hope we can get him into fast work by the end of next week.
“It could be touch and go (for the Arc) but we were pleased with him in the last couple of days.
“The horse is sound so it’s not a muscle rupture or a tear, it’s just a strain so that’s a different ball game and he could, with appropriate treatment, recover fairly quickly.
“We still have our eye on the Arc but until we get him back into fast work, we can’t be 100 per cent. It looks feasible at the moment.”
Azamour had notched up a Group One double in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, before meeting with defeat at Leopardstown.
Although the Arc is still a target, the 10-furlong Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket on October 15 and the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Belmont Park on October 29 also enter the equation.
“The Breeders’ Cup Turf has been in our mind and I suppose that’s plan A but obviously the Champion Stakes is an alternative should we change plan,” added Oxx.
Azamour is 8-1 with William Hill for the Arc, while he is 5-1 with the same firm for the American race.
Meanwhile Soviet Song has been ruled out of the Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket next month.
The five-times Group One winner has a sore foot after recovering from a dirty scope she produced the week after finishing second in the Sussex Stakes.
That prevented her from going for back-to-back victories in the Marton Stakes at Leopardstown last weekend.
Because of these setbacks, trainer James Fanshawe is unable to get the Elite Racing Club-owned mare ready for the Group One at Headquarters on October 1.
And the next two weeks are crucial if Soviet Song is to go for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Belmont Park, New York, on October 29.
“She will not be running in the Sun Chariot,” Fanshawe said.
“She coughed the week after Goodwood and it took a while to get her lungs clear.
“The original plan was to go for the Breeders’ Cup but we have had a muddly five weeks with her and I would like to see in my own mind she is really firing before we make any definite plans.”
