20 August 2021

King looking to future big targets for Trueshan after ground scuppers Lonsdale Cup run

20 August 2021

Alan King will look at alternative targets for Trueshan after deciding against letting his stable star line up for the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at York.

Having also missed the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in June on account of unsuitably fast ground, the five-year-old provided his trainer with a first Group One victory on the Flat when running out an impressive winner of last month’s Goodwood Cup.

King was keen to let him take on Stradivarius on the Knavesmire, but with conditions drying out all the time, he declared him a non-runner shortly before 1pm.

He said: “We’ve decided to take him out. It wasn’t really a difficult decision now the ground has gone good to firm.

“We’ve got Goodwood in the bag and there are plenty of big targets later in the year for him, so the one thing we don’t want to do is go jarring him up.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t have been at his best on quick ground, anyway.”

Alan King trains Trueshan (David Davies/PA) (PA Archive)

Trueshan is entered in the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on October 16, a Group Two contest he won last season.

But he could be seen in competitive action at least once before then, with the Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp a fortnight earlier pencilled in as a major objective.

“The Prix du Cadran is before Ascot and that is his first big target and I’ll need to find a run for him somewhere beforehand,” King added.

“There’s the Doncaster Cup next month, so we’ll see.”

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