Irish trainer, Aidan O'Brien, says he has "absolutely no regrets" in his decision to withdraw 2,000 Guineas winner Gleneagles from the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood yesterday.
"As soon as we walked on the course we were delighted that he was not running,” O’Brien said. “Joseph [O’Brien] said it was on the slow side in the straight and Gleneagles is a fast-ground horse.”
The race was pipped as the showdown of Gleneagles and highly rated French-trained colt Solow, who went on to win the race to continue his dominant performances this season.
The going on Wednesday at Goodwood was officially declared good but the ground did deteriorate slightly as 18mm of rain fell over the course of the afternoon.
Another of O'Brien's highly rated challengers, Highland Reel, ran superbly to capture the Neptune Investment Management Gordon Stakes.
Despite being held up for much of the race, Reel produced a superb turn of foot after early leader Space Age began to falter in the final half-mile and saw Scottish surged ahead of the chasing group.
Reel was temporarily held up by Disegno heading into the final furlongs, but once it found a gap in the group, accelerated powerfully through the group and cleared Scottish by a length and a half.
"I was out early enough and I had plenty of horse. When you have the horse, the gaps come" said winning jockey," Joseph O'Brien after the race.
"He tried his heart out and had a nice position.
"I was a bit worried early doors as we went slow, but in fairness to him he tries and he handles this track well."
Aidan O'Brien has signalled two races, the Marois at Deauville in August and the Moulin at Longchamp in September, as prospective races for Gleneagles, unless he steps up his distance for York or Leopardstown.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
