York and Deauville options for Eclipse absentee Jayarebe

PA Sport Reporters
July 7, 2024 2:57 pm

Royal Ascot winner missed Sandown Group One due to soft ground.

Brian Meehan is eyeing a trip to either Deauville or York next month with Coral-Eclipse absentee Jayarebe.

The three-year-old son of Zoffany secured a Group Three success at Royal Ascot when holding off King’s Gambit to claim the Hampton Court Stakes.

He was set to try and give Meehan a second Eclipse victory by emulating David Junior’s heroics from 18 years ago, but connections cited unsuitable soft ground at Sandown as the reason he was pulled out of a clash with City Of Troy.

With a Feilden Stakes triumph also on his CV this season, Jayarebe is still expected to be aimed high on his next outing, with the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano or the Sky Bet York Stakes under consideration, both at Group Two level over 10 furlongs.

When asked at Deauville about possible upcoming engagements, Meehan told Sky Sports Racing: “The race here on the 15th of August, the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, or there’s also a race at York at the end of July.

“I’m not sure that soft ground would have inconvenienced him but we’ve been taking it nice and steady, race by race, with him, so I didn’t want to take the chance against City Of Troy.

“I’m sure the ground probably wouldn’t inconvenience him but we’ll wait for that later in the season.”