Highland Chief has 'big future' according to connections

Highland Chief is to be lightly-raced this season as connections have one eye on next year for the youngster, who put up an eyecatching performance in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The son of Gleneagles, trained by Paul Cole, ran with great promise to take minor honours behind Godolphin's Pinatubo and the Aidan O'Brien-trained Lope Y Fernandez in the Listed contest over seven furlongs.

It was his second outing following a winning debut over the minimum trip at Newbury in April.

"He ran well. He was a bit green - after the race we felt he could have been a lot closer if he hadn't been so green," said Oliver Cole, assistant to his father.

"He got boxed and then ran all over the place. I think he would have been a lot closer.

"We are going to lightly race him this year. He'll probably run maybe once more or twice more, and that's it, and then put him away for next year.

"He's a very nice horse. He does all the right things at home, he's a pleasure to train and I think he's a serious horse in the making.

"He's still much a frame of a horse physically so he's going to grow and develop and get better and better.

"We haven't got an immediate plan. We'll speak to the owners."

Cole felt it was a good renewal of the Chesham.

"I think it was above average," he said.

"The winner is very good and they really fancied the second. We really like ours, but until you run them against the bigger yards then you don't know, but we think ours is pretty smart too.

"I think he'll get a mile plus in time."