Haydock now the top target for Shouldvebeenaring

Respiratory infection forced Middleham Park star’s French trip to be aborted.

Shouldvebeenaring missed Sunday’s Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville due to a similar ailment which ruled stablemate Rosallion out of the Sussex Stakes.

Richard Hannon was forced to pull his Irish Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes hero Rosallion out of the Goodwood highlight last week with a respiratory infection.

Sprinter Shouldvebeenaring was among the favourites for the Deauville Group One on Sunday but never made it to France, with his tracheal wash showing an elevated reading.

“Whatever Rosallion had, he had the same thing,” said Tim Palin of owners Middleham Park Racing.

“The reading showed that a respiratory infection was on the way, we were on the same trajectory as Rosallion and we are pretty sure a respiratory infection was coming on.

“Richard rang me to say they always take a reading before they go, he was 40 minutes down the road on Friday but then the results of the test came through, so they had to turn the wagon around before he got to Dover.

“It’s frustrating, as we believed that was one of his best shots at a Group One, but the saving grace is the race saw a proper winner in Lazzat.

“He’s six unbeaten now and won by three lengths and that was always my fear that one of the three-year-olds, like Inisherin or Elite Status, would come along and do that.

“So, we’ll aim for Haydock now, and that is currently 7-1 the field, so the division is wide open.”

He went on: “The Maurice de Gheest and the Haydock Sprint Cup were always our two big aims this season and we’ll just see how he is to see if he runs before Haydock.

“Richard has said Rosallion will be aimed at the Prix du Moulin and while that is seven weeks away, that doesn’t mean he won’t be right for seven weeks, just that Haatem runs in the Jacques le Marois and the Moulin is the next option, whereas we’ve got options at Newbury in the Hungerford and York, both over seven furlongs.

“We’ll just see how long he takes to come right, hopefully it won’t be too long.”

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