Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted May 4, 2018 Journalists Share Posted May 4, 2018 As in recent years, with around five runners the norm, Newmarket’s G2 Dunaden Jockey Club S. on Saturday has cut up and so Roger Varian has seized the opportunity to bring Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Defoe (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) back to action just a fortnight after his win in Newbury’s G3 John Porter S. Last year’s Listed Glasgow S. and G3 Geoffrey Freer S. scorer hit a snag when 10th in Doncaster’s G1 St Leger in September, but he came home sick from that and his other performances have been characterised by a taking ease. “I have been delighted with Defoe following his Newbury win and it was the ideal seasonal reappearance as he didn’t have a hard race,” his trainer commented. “He holds an entry in the [G1] Tattersalls Gold Cup at the end of May, but he seems so well in himself it seems prudent to run him while ground conditions are set to be in his favour. I am very grateful that Sheikh Mohammed Obaid has agreed to pay the supplementary fee and I am very excited about running the horse on Saturday.” This renewal is no great shakes and Defoe’s greatest threat probably comes from Qatar Racing’s G2 Queen’s Vase runner-up Count Octave (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who was sixth in the Leger but who made harder work of his comeback than he should have when narrowly winning a minor contest at Wolverhampton on Apr. 10. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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