Penitent in limbo

Plans are still fluid for Penitent after his victory at Sandown last week.

William Haggas’ Lincoln winner bounced back to winning form in the Fortune Stakes after a below-par run on quick ground at the Derby meeting.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned four-year-old must have give in the ground to be seen at his best and conditions will ultimately determine where he next runs.

“The difficulty with him, as ever, is the ground as he has to have some cut,” said Chris Richardson, managing director of the stud.

“There are several options for him. There’s the Group Three (Joel Stakes) at the first Newmarket meeting and then another (Darley Stakes) at the Champions Stakes meeting, but it is really a question of the ground.

“We are looking to step him up in grade again now but we’ll just have to wait and see where the rain falls.

“There are options abroad but with Mr and Mrs Thompson (owners of the stud) in town for the Newmarket sales we’ll try and keep him here if we can, but we are not discounting going abroad.”