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French Guineas winner ‘sore’ after Prix du Jockey Club defeat
French 2000 Guineas hero Persian King may not run again until next season, trainer Andre Fabre has revealed.
The Kingman colt looked every inch a top-class colt in the making after winning three of his four starts as a juvenile – rounding off his campaign with a narrow victory over subsequent Newmarket Guineas winner Magna Grecia in the Autumn Stakes.
He picked up where he left off with a dominant victory at ParisLongchamp in April, before providing Fabre with a seventh success in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains a month later.
Persian King was unable to follow up in the Prix du Jockey Club – filling the runner-up spot behind Sottsass – after which Fabre was keen to give his charge a break before aiming at one of the numerous high-profile prizes up for grabs at Deauville in August.
However, speaking on Tuesday, the French maestro told PA: "Persian King will not be running at Deauville. He is having some rest as he was sore after his last race."
Asked whether he could run again this year, the trainer added: "It's a remote possibility, but I think it is more likely will wait until next year."
Fabre was able to provide more positive updates on Slalom and Impulsif.
Slalom pushed Aidan O'Brien's Japan all the way in the Grand Prix de Paris earlier this month, despite missing the break – although not quite as badly as he had done previously in the French Derby.
Impulsif, meanwhile, claimed his third successive win in the Group Three Prix Messidor at Deauville on Sunday and Fabre has raised a trip to the Breeders' Cup as a potential long-term target.
"Slalom missed the start again and that is a problem we need to solve, but he made up a lot of ground and he is a horse who definitely has a lot of class. We'll until September with him and run him in the Prix Niel," Fabre added.
"Impulsif is a gelding, so he can't run in Group One races (in France). He could go for the Prix Daniel Wildenstein and might end up at the Breeders' Cup, something like that."
