Jarvis has Laaheb doubts

Michael Jarvis has doubts about Laaheb acting on the track when he goes for the Festival Stakes at Goodwood tomorrow.

The four-year-old has raced mainly on stiffer and galloping courses such as Newmarket so far, but the Listed contest looks an ideal opportunity for the Cape Cross gelding.

And he did shape well on his seasonal debut when third to Glass Harmonium at Sandown five weeks ago.

“He ran respectably at Sandown and he’s trained well since,” said the Newmarket trainer.

“There is a big question mark on the track though, I think. He’s always run on galloping tracks, but you never know until you run them.

“It’s an open sort of race, but on his best form you’d have to give him a good shout.”

The Richard Hannon-trained Soul City was two lengths behind Laaheb in fifth place at Sandown and he will wear blinkers for the first time as connections attempt to rekindle his enthusiasm.

“He ran well enough in the Gordon Richards at Sandown but we are trying him in blinkers to wake him up a bit and make him concentrate on the job in hand,” the Everleigh handler told his website www.richardhannonracing.tv.

Connections of Drunken Sailor feel they have to run the Luca Cumani-trained five-year-old in a far from ideal race due to the lack of opportunities.

“Our hand has been forced somewhat with Drunken Sailor. The idea was to run him at Royal Ascot but, bizarrely as well as unsatisfactorily, there isn’t a handicap for him there despite his rating of 107 and neither is there a handicap for him later in the year,” reported www.lucacumani.com.

“Horses rated in that ’twilight’ 105-110 bracket, even higher in some instances, at least have options, even if there aren’t many, but anyone with a specialist mile-and-a-half horse is well and truly stuck.

“As such we are forced to run him out slightly out of his grade and short of his best trip in the Festival Stakes at Goodwood.”