Field Of Gold “Doing Well” But Definitely Out Of The Juddmonte International

[Wandering Eyes]

Field Of Gold (Kingman) will bypass the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York later this month as he continues his recovery from the setback sustained when suffering a shock defeat in last week's Sussex Stakes.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold was sent off the 1/3 favourite to complete a Group 1 hat-trick at Goodwood, but at no stage did he look like pegging back the Juddmonte pacemaker, Qirat (Showcasing), ultimately finishing three and three-quarter lengths behind that rival in fourth.

The next day the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes winner was reported to be lame on his left-hind leg. Happily, there has been an improvement in his condition in the interim, according to Barry Mahon, Juddmonte's European racing manager, but an appearance on the Knavesmire is definitely off the cards.

“The horse is doing well and was back sound, which is good,” said Mahon. “He's got a little bit of swelling in his fetlock, but John and Thady are much happier with him so the plan is to do the X-ray on Wednesday. They've just pushed it back a day, as the longer you can leave it, the clearer the picture is.

“That will give us some more insight and, if the X-ray is clear, we can hopefully start back into some light exercise towards the end of the week or early next week. York, though, is definitely not going to happen at this stage.”

Considering future targets for the season's outstanding three-year-old miler, Mahon added, “It was the plan pre-Goodwood to stick at a mile for the time being. Obviously, there has been no chat about potential races since Goodwood. We're just going to have to let the dust settle, let him get back into exercise, and then when he is fit make a plan from there.

“You are getting into that time of year when there is not an abundance of opportunities. There is the Moulin, QEII or you go up to a mile and a quarter for the races at that distance. I wouldn't say there is a huge amount of options, but we'll just wait and see and let the horse tell us.”

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