Dirty scope blamed for Gordon Lord Byron flop

Gordon Lord Byron’s intended participation at Royal Ascot is up the air after he returned a dirty scope following a disappointing run at the Curragh on Saturday.

Tom Hogan’s multiple Group One winner pulled muscles when finishing down the field in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at at Sha Tin in mid-March and made his first start since on Saturday.

The seven-year-old trailed home a well-beaten eighth of nine runners, but Hogan soon discovered his charge was not 100 per cent.