Plans for resumption have Charlton keen to take positives

PA Sport Reporters
May 4, 2020 6:00 am

Quadrilateral on course for potential Classic date on first weekend in June.

Roger Charlton is hopeful the return of racing may not be too far away as he continues to prepare Quadrilateral for the Qipco 1000 Guineas.

The Beckhampton trainer reports the winter favourite for the fillies’ Classic to be doing well and on course to take her chance when the times comes, which is poised to be the first weekend in June should the “best-case scenario” planning from the British Horseracing Authority for the resumption of racing come to fruition.

If the Guineas meeting is able to be run then, it would follow on from two high-profile weekends before it that are pencilled in to contain a number of Classic trials and other Pattern races, again subject to racing having resumed and not necessarily at their traditional homes.

Looking at the current situation, Charlton told Racing TV: “We know that life will not be the same for several years, we accept that the prize-money will disappear, we accept that if we have a Derby it might be worth GBP 500,000 rather than GBP 1.2million – it’s better to have it than not to have it.

“If we have to go to the races and accept that the programme book is not how we want it to be, there will be frustration from trainers and owners, but we have to calm down and get racing back quietly.

“We are going to build momentum, we have the Group races that we want, we have the Classics. We have to accept they won’t be run at places we expect or when we expect, but at least that is better than nothing, which is the most important and positive way to look at it.

“If we are back and we’ve got those races, that’s fantastic. Trainers have always had to be pretty flexible, we’re used to having constant setbacks, either a horse coughing or lame or something going wrong before a race. We have to produce our horses as well and as fit as possible when they are required. That’s the mission, it might be a bit more challenging not knowing where a certain race is, but at least we have got some races, let’s get on with it and enjoy it.”

Of Fillies’ Mile winner Quadrilateral, Charlton said: “As long as the preparation continues here as it is at the moment, I wasn’t thinking of wanting a prep race. I view good horses to be horses that should improve and I would like Quadrilateral to be better in September/October than she might be in June.

“It’s a long season, we hope, and I will try to present her in the first weekend in June in the best possible fitness. It will of course be interesting to see if Ireland and France are able to come, we don’t yet know that.”