Rock Gheest raid in limbo

A decision on whether Society Rock travels over to France this weekend to take in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville will be made later this week.

James Fanshawe’s Golden Jubilee winner would clash with July Cup scorer Dream Ahead if allowed to take his chance on Sunday.

The four-year-old was forced to miss the Newmarket race at the 11th hour with a foot problem.

Society Rock is due on the gallops on Wednesday morning, after which Fanshawe will assess his condition and his likely opponents before giving the colt the green light.

Fanshawe said: “I just want to see how he is after his work.

“There’s nothing definite at the moment, I just want to see how he is.

“He goes on most ground so that wouldn’t have a bearing on whether he goes or not.

“I just want to be sure in my mind that he’s in tip-top condition as it is a Group One, after all.”

Fanshawe has a potential second string to his bow in the shape of Deacon Blues.

Having won the Wokingham at Royal Ascot, he then took the Group Three Hackwood Stakes at Newbury to prove he was a Pattern-race sprinter.

Fanshawe added: “He’s in in France and Ireland (Patrick P O’Leary Memorial Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh) so we’ll just keep an eye on the ground.”