Overdose to miss Royal Ascot

Overdose, the legendary Hungarian horse dubbed the ’Budapest Bullet’, will not run at Royal Ascot.

The unbeaten sprinter was under consideration for either the Golden Jubilee Stakes or the King’s Stand Stakes, but is not yet at peak fitness from a protracted spell on the sidelines.

Overdose has been off the track since last April as he recovers from a foot injury.

Although pencilled in to return at Bratislava on June 6, after which a trip to Berkshire beckoned, those plans have now been scrapped.

Owner Zoltan Mikoczy said: “Having seen the horse train and evaluated this, it was decided not to take part at Bratislava or Ascot.

“From a veterinary perspective he is completely healthy, but it is clear that his condition is not yet right.

“It would be a great honour to compete in the King’s Stand Stakes or Golden Jubilee Stakes, but also a great responsibility – this is why we can only let the horse race when he’s 100%.”

Overdose is now back in his homeland after having spent time recuperating in Germany with former trainer Sandor Ribarszki.

Ribarszki has since returned to Hungary but no longer has a licence to train in the country, according to Mikoczy, with Jozef Roszival now Overdose’s registered handler.

The British-bred five-year-old has a devout cult following in his native land, having won all 12 of the races in which he has competed.

He also landed the voided first running of the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp in 2008.