Elzaam may swerve York's Nunthorpe Stakes and head elsewhere according to his trainer Roger Varian.
Roger Varian keeps Elzaam options open
Listed winner Elzaam may swerve York's Nunthorpe Stakes and head elsewhere according to Roger Varian.
The three-year-old, who was beaten just two lengths into fourth in Royal Ascot's Golden Jubilee Stakes, was a debut winner on the Knavesmire last season.
However, his trainer says that he is not certain to return there for the Coolmore-sponsored Group One sprint.
"I think the track would hold no fears for the horse. He seems to run his best races on flat tracks, but I'm not sure if we will definitely go for the Nunthorpe. I wouldn't rule it out but I wouldn't mark him down as a definite runner," Varian told
skysports.com.
"We have got options later on in the year. There's possibly the race at Haydock, and the race that has been transferred to Ascot from Newmarket later in the season is also an option so I think we are quite conscious that for a horse in his career, going forward, that we have to make the right decision for his next run.
"While I wouldn't rule the Nunthorpe out I wouldn't say we are a definite runner. I would be a bit cagey about the prospects of running at York."
July Cup Blow
Reflecting on the colt's performance in the July Cup, when he was eighth and beaten four lengths by Dream Ahead, the trainer added "If you look at the bare result it wasn't such a poor run. Possibly two things were slightly not in his favour.
"When he has put up his best performances he has come off a very quick pace and it was a messy race. Unusually for a big sprint there wasn't much of an early gallop on.
"We found ourselves a little bit handy. I just think that the combination of the two went against us a little bit and you could just throw in, whether it's a solid factor or not we can debate, but it's his third run at Newmarket and he's not put up a good performance there yet.
"So whether the undulating track doesn't 100 per cent suit the horse I'm not sure. But I would attribute it more perhaps to the slow early pace and how the race was run."
