Legatissimo will try to regain the winning thread in the Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood after narrow defeats in her last two starts.
Winner of the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, David Wachman’s charge was edged out by just a short head when bidding for a Classic double in the Oaks, before losing out by the same distance in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
Legatissimo holds an entry in the Darley Irish Oaks on July 18th but Wachman has indicated she will sidestep that race in favour of the 10-furlong Group One at Goodwood on August 1st.“Legatissimo ran well in the Pretty Polly. She runs in the Nassau next hopefully,” he said.
“She came out of the race fine so we will try again. I’d say the Pretty Polly was a good race, the winner won well and the third was coming home well. The Nassau will be the same and it will be interesting.”
John Gosden would not be concerned if Golden Horn was forced into making the running again following his victory from the front in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday.
Stunning
Although usually held up, the Derby winner and Frankie Dettori made virtually every yard of the running with a stunning performance in the mile-and-a-quarter Group One.
“Golden Horn has come out of the race well,” said Gosden. “He had a jog [on Monday morning] and he is on very good terms with himself. He had no choice but to make it [the running] once we drew one.
“If you let yourself get put in a box there and they are trotting to the bend you are asking for terrible trouble. As soon as the draw came out Frankie came round to see me and said, ‘You know what we are doing’.”
The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot later this month has been mentioned as a next possible target for Golden Horn, though Gosden stressed no firm decision had yet been made.
Looking beyond his next run, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October could also be on the cards, providing ground conditions are suitable.
Andre Fabre has pencilled in the Group Two Prix Guillaume d'Ornano as the likely next target for French Derby hero New Bay. The Dubawi colt was a brilliant winner of the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly at the end of May and the French maestro considered bringing his charge to Britain for a potentially mouth-watering clash with Golden Horn in the Eclipse.
That option was eventually shelved, and while Fabre has not completely ruled out taking on Gosden’s three-year-old in the King George later this month, he is at this stage favouring a trip to Deauville on August 15th.
