Threat to bid for elusive Group One success in Prix Jean Prat

Graham Clark
July 2, 2020 3:15 pm

Hannon colt heads to France in good heart after Ascot return.

Threat will drop back in trip as he bids to open his Group One account at the third time of asking in the Qatar Prix Jean Prat at Deauville.

The Richard Hannon-trained son of Footstepsinthesand will revert back to seven furlongs next Sunday, after beating only two rivals home on his first attempt over a mile on his comeback run in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Although out of luck when first tried at the top level in the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on his final outing last year, Threat had previously scored Group Two victories in the Gimcrack Stakes at York and Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

Hannon said: “He was absolutely fine after his race at Royal Ascot and he has been moving great at home.

“He will go for the Prix Jean Prat over seven. I don’t think travelling over to France will be any problem for him.

“If he is going to win a big one, the Prix Jean Prat is the one he is most likely to.”

Hannon believes Threat could have finished closer on his return had the race worked out differently.

He added: “It wasn’t the ideal passage he had in the race, and he might have ended up using a bit too much in the race early on.

“They were three very good horses that filled the first three places, but we never gave ourselves the chance to get the trip.

“We walked away a bit confused, because none of the questions we wanted were answered apart from the fact that it showed that he had trained on.”

Hannon’s Billesdon Brook will try to make the most of a significant drop in class, meanwhile, as she bids to win the Listed Queen Charlotte Stakes for a second successive year at Chelmsford on Saturday.

The former 1000 Guineas heroine ran a respectable race in defeat back up at Group One level in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting on her latest start.

Hannon added: “It is the obvious race to go for. She won it last year and she is a Group One winner going in there without a penalty.

“At Ascot she was a little bit keen – but hopefully she will be fine here and win the race again, because she is clear on the ratings.”