John and Thady Gosden trainee Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), out of action since annexing Meydan's G1 Dubai Turf last March, has sidestepped an engagement in today's G3 Neom Turf Cup and instead heads a competitive field for the latest renewal of Lingfield's £110,000 G3 Betway Winter Derby.
“Lord North is fine, but he has been off for so long we didn't think sending him all the way to Saudi [Arabia] for his first run in nearly a year was the way forward,” explained John Gosden.
The 2020 G1 Prince of Wales's S. hero is joined by stablemate Forest of Dean (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), who has failed to add to his tally in two starts since winning this contest last year.
Rivals also include G2 King Edward VII S. victor Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}), who placed in both G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Juddmonte International since that Royal Ascot high, and the Richard Hannon-trained Fancy Man (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}), who defeated the consistent handicapper King of the South (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) over course and distance in the Listed Winter Derby Trial earlier this month.
“Fancy Man has come out of the trial well and I am told he did a good piece of work while I was away in Qatar last week,” said rider Sean Levey. “I thought he was impressive in the trial and I had a nice breeze on him the other day. We thought he was going to be a very nice horse, but he was found wanting at the backend of a lot of his races last year. He was not finding that turn of foot in the closing stages whereas in the trial he put in some very good fractions for the final three furlongs.
“Ordinarily, I thought we would be going into the Winter Derby with a favourite's chance, but we have six pounds to find with Alenquer and a further eight pounds with Lord North. Even though our horse has improved from the trial, it is going to be very difficult.
“I would like to think that Fancy Man could potentially be better than a Group 3 horse. The calendar holds plenty of nice races where he won't be running into the likes of Lord North and this race should help us determine his level going forward.”
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