Percy has 'good shot' - Tregoning

Trainer Marcus Tregoning is optimistic about Sir Percy’s chances of victory in the Dubai Sheema Classic as the Vodafone Derby winner continued his smooth progress towards Saturday’s Dubai World Cup meeting.

The four-year-old suffered a succession of niggling injury problems in 2006 and is set for his first outing since finishing a disappointing seventh in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket in October.

A shoulder muscle injury that ruled him out of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, plus his exertions at Epsom in June and in finishing second in the 2000 Guineas a month earlier, meant Sir Percy’s preparations for the Newmarket race were disrupted, which contributed to a below-par display.

But after another light workout on Tuesday morning, Tregoning could not be happier with the colt’s condition leading up to the big race at the weekend.

“We’ve had a good time with him,” he said.

“We’ve had a much clearer run and he got here in good shape. He’s fit and well and running great, and we’re hopeful for the race.

“He had a lot of niggling muscle problems and the core fitness wasn’t there as we gave him a big break after the Derby to hopefully get him right, so we weren’t that confident for the Champion Stakes but as it turned out, he was fit enough to run two weeks afterwards.”

Things have gone much more smoothly in the run-up to the Sheema Classic, leading Tregoning to remain quietly confident of Sir Percy adding to his Derby and Dewhurst Stakes triumphs at the weekend.

“It’s a really strong field, Red Rocks is a good horse and Pop Rock will be there or thereabouts as well,” he said.

“It depends how the other horses travel but if he can reproduce the form he is capable of, then I think he’s got a good shot.

“He was a precocious two-year-old and with his pedigree we always thought he’d be a three-year-old, but he’s maturing well. It’s quite hot for the European runners but the long-range forecast is that it will cool down for the race, although it is one of the hottest races of the night.”

The Lambourn handler, who tasted success in the Sheema Classic with Nayef in 2002, revealed Sir Percy would only be undertaking light work between now and race night.

“There’s not a lot we can do now, he’s just coasting towards Saturday,” Tregoning added.

“We won’t do a lot, just keep him ticking over. If he’s not not fit enough now, he never will be.

“He’s been here two weeks but was previously training on polytracks in Britain, which ride consistently, so the weather hasn’t affected his work during the winter.”

Tregoning also paid tribute to his staff for getting the son of Mark of Esteem in prime condition for the Dubai meeting after a difficult 2006, in which he also picked up a leg injury from a lost shoe.

“He raced at the 2000 Guineas and got jarred, and also lost a shoe which caused a lot of damage,” Tregoning said.

“It was a stop-start business leading up to the Derby as we could not do a lot and he was touch and go for the race.

“I got a lot of help from our physiotherapist and veterinary surgeon, it was a real team effort, and we got the right result.”

He also rejected suggestions racing in Dubai would have an adverse effect on Sir Percy in the coming months.

“I don’t think coming to Dubai will affect the rest of his season,” he added. “It’s not that far to travel and they really look after you here, they really push the boat out to give you every opportunity in the race.

“We’ll give him a bit of a break afterwards, there’s not a huge amount to run for before Ascot anyway, but it’s all mapped out to a programme.”