Oxx seeking Rock revival
Twelve months ago, having been narrowly beaten in the Gold Cup on his previous start, Saddler’s Rock ran out an impressive winner of Glorious Goodwood’s two-mile feature but has been largely disappointing since.
Certainly in this year’s Gold Cup connections rightly expected better than a well-beaten eighth and trainer John Oxx is hoping his charge will be sharper when he heads to the Sussex Downs on August 1.
Oxx said: “We were a bit disappointed with him in the Gold Cup. The race was run to suit him, but he ran a little bit flat.
“He sat second or third for a lot of the way and he’s much more adaptable now than he used to be. You can ride him a few different ways.
“For whatever reason he was just a bit flat on the day. He’s had a good interval now, so hopefully he can run up to his best at Goodwood.
“We know he likes the track there, so we’ll see what happens.”
Meanwhile Gordon Lord Byron could return to France in search of a second Group One success after a good run in defeat at the Curragh.
Trainer Tom Hogan is considering the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on August 4 next for last year’s Prix de la Foret hero, who was far from disgraced in taking second place behind the exciting Darwin in the Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.
Gordon Lord Byron faced a stiff task in giving 12lb to Aidan O’Brien’s American import in the seven-furlong Group Three on ground that was not ideal for the five-year-old.
“He’s in grand form. He came out of the race well and had a pick of grass and a roll this morning,” said Hogan.
“The winner (Darwin) looks a very smart horse. The ground was very fast. Good would be our preferred ground, certainly not ground as quick as that.
“He seems to run best on flat tracks, so we’ll rule out the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood, but we might have a crack at Deauville.”
