Workforce 'less likely' for Irish date

Workforce could make his seasonal reappearance at Sandown later this month rather than tackling the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

Last year’s Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero had been pencilled in for the 10-furlong contest on May 22, a race which is also set to feature Aidan O’Brien’s ex-Australian sensation So You Think.

However, Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for Workforce’s owner Khalid Abdullah, has indicated the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt could skip that Group One engagement and make his return in the Group Three Blue Square Brigadier Gerard Stakes the following week.

He told the Daily Mail: “We were patient with Workforce last year and we will be again.

“Ireland is looking less likely and the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown (on May 26) is a possibility.”