Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted Thursday at 10:33 AM Journalists Posted Thursday at 10:33 AM Brilliant Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes winner Field Of Gold is reported to be lame following his below-par effort in Wednesday's Sussex Stakes. John and Thady Gosden's star three-year-old was sent off the 1-3 favourite to emulate his sire Kingman in the Group 1 contest, but could only finish fourth as his Juddmonte-owned pacemaker Qirat caused a massive shock at 150-1. The Clarehaven training team suggested the “engine wasn't there” in the immediate aftermath of the contest and now a potential reason for his disappointing performance could have been found. “We don't have the full picture yet, but he is lame on his left-hind,” Barry Mahon, European racing manager for Juddmonte, said on Thursday morning. “John called me this morning at 7am and said he was 'off' behind with a bit of swelling in his leg and the vet is due out to see him later today so until we have the full picture we can't fully diagnose it. “But the fact he is lame suggests that could potentially be why we didn't see the true horse that we know yesterday. We just have to sit tight now until the vet can run through all the tests he can run through.” Mahon added, “Plans are on ice and the thing with these things is, it might be a week before anything will show up on an X-ray or whatever, so it's not something you will have an answer for straight away. “But the fact the horse is lame indicates there is an issue and we have to address that. What that is and whether it will be a short fix or a long fix, we just don't know at this stage.” Despite Field Of Gold's surprise reversal, there was still plenty of joy for the Juddmonte team with Ralph Beckett's Qirat stealing the spotlight, with Mahon reflecting on a race of contrasting fortunes. He concluded, “It was disappointing from a Field Of Gold point of view, but from a Juddmonte point of view the winner is a home bred and won it in good style and there has to be some satisfaction in that. As someone said to me yesterday, it was bittersweet but there was still plenty of sweet.” The post Field Of Gold Found To Be Lame After Below-Par Sussex Stakes Effort appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article Quote
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