Sakhee out of Ascot races
Sakhee will not run in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot this afternoon, Godolphin have confirmed.
Fast ground has ruled last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-Lucien Barriere out of the £750,000 Group One showpiece.
"We just can’t risk him. When we walked the track on Wednesday it was definitely fast ground and although that is what you expect at this time of year funny things have happened," Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford told attheraces today.
"I remember when we won the race with Swain it absolutely poured down for two or three hours just before the race and the ground changed completely. That is why we left him in the race until the last possible moment.
"But deep down we knew it would take something extraordinary to get the horse to the track."
Ascot’s loss could be Deauville’s gain with connections considering the Group Three Prix Gontaut-Biron over a mile and quarter there in two weeks’ time to put Sakhee in peak condition for the major races this autumn.
Explained Crisford: "Plan B are races like the Irish Champion Stakes and the Juddmonte International and it all depends how these races slot into his programme.
"The thing is right now this horse needs to race because he has not run since the Dubai World Cup in March.
"So we are looking for an immediate target and maybe the most suitable immediate target comes up on the 10th of August at Deauville. It’s a Group Three and it’s a similar type of race to what he ran in at Newbury last year.
"The point is we have to get him on the track because if we wait too much longer then we could miss the moment.
"He needs to get on the track to get some momentum to push him into these big autumn races.
"We can’t sit on him until September time and not race him."
But Godolphin expect a big run from Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Grandera, the likely hot favourite in Sakhee’s absence.
"If Grandera is as good as when he ran at Ascot in the Prince of Wales’s - by that I mean physically and mentally - then I think he’s got to go close to winning it. And he is," said Crisford.
The news about Sakhee came as no surprise to Ascot clerk of course Nick Cheyne.
He said: "It’s not a surprise. Obviously they wanted to delay their decision as late as possible in case rain hit this area. It’s extremely sad that Sakhee is a non-runner but we’ve still got a very good race.
"The whole course was watered last night after racing and five millimetres was put on.
"It’s fast ground but I think it is safe ground. The water has put back what was taken out yesterday."
