3 minute read

Setback forced colt to miss his intended return.

Plans are fluid for the high-class Madhmoon after a setback ruled him out of his intended reappearance at the Curragh last month.

Last season's Investec Derby runner-up was due to make his competitive comeback in the Mooresbridge Stakes on June 12, but was forced to sidestep the Group Two contest due to an unsatisfactory scope.

Having given his stable star time to recover, veteran trainer Kevin Prendergast is now unsure whether he will be ready to run at the highest level in the Tattersalls Gold Cup on July 26.

Prendergast said: "He was going along well, but unfortunately he scoped very badly before the Mooresbridge, so we had to ease off him for a while – there's definitely been something going around in Ireland.

"That (Mooresbridge) was meant to be his prep run for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, so we're sort of in the middle of nowhere now. We'll see how we go over the next week or 10 days and then decide if we run in the Tattersalls Gold Cup or wait a bit longer.

"There's bags of races for him later on in the year, so we're in no panic."

Madhmoon has won at Group Three and Group Two level, to go with his half-length second to Anthony Van Dyck in the premier Classic at Epsom.

The Dawn Approach colt was last seen finishing sixth in the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown last September.