Moon ready to shine at Knavesmire

Green Moon has enjoyed a break since Royal Ascot and is to be aimed at the Sky Bet York Stakes on the Knavesmire on July 24.

Harry Dunlop's three-year-old progressed from winning a Leicester maiden in April to being well-fancied for the King Edward VII Stakes at the big meeting, having taken a valuable Newbury handicap and a Newmarket Listed race in between.

Dunlop thinks the Ascot event may have just come a bit quick for him and also that he would have found the ground plenty quick enough.

"Basically he came back a bit battered after Ascot, it was a pretty tough race so we've given him a little bit of a break," said Dunlop.

"We were thinking about the Steventon, a Listed race at Newbury, but I think we might just wait for the Sky Bet at York and drop him back to 10 furlongs.

"He'd achieved a lot in a short space of time, we only won our Listed race three weeks earlier and it may have just been a step too far at that stage.

"It wasn't that he ran badly, but of course you go there to try to win. I think he deserves a little bit of a break, we might get some nice ground too.

"He's a Montjeu and he's been doing his winning on relatively quick ground, but it was pretty fast at Ascot."

He added: "It was nice to see the horse that won the King Edward (Monterosso) run well in Ireland (Irish Derby) - even though he didn't win it I thought he ran well to say it came so quick."