Gleneagles Still on Fence for Ascot Start

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Gleneagles, walked the course at Ascot Racecourse the afternoon before British Champions Day to test the ground on which the £1.1 million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored by QIPCO (Eng-I) will be run Oct. 17.

Gleneagles, by Galileo and owned by the Coolmore Stud connections of Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith, has been entered and scratched from four group stakes due to the soft ground since his victory in the St. James's Palace Stakes (Eng-I) during Royal Ascot in June.

"The ground is not perfect at the moment, but we will take Gleneagles to the races and see how it rides in the first few races tomorrow," O'Brien said. "Obviously, we would love to run but want to do what is right by the horse. It is very close to good ground in parts today. There are parts that are a bit slow at the moment, but we will see how things are tomorrow.

"The ground is not far away from where it needs to be for him to run. You would hope it might tighten up a bit before the race. A millimeter of rain, though, would be too much. After (jockey) Ryan (Moore) has ridden on it (Saturday) he will know what it is like. The times will tell us a lot as well."

In a statement issued Oct. 13, Coolmore said if the colt doesn't run on QIPCO Champions Day, "permission will be sought from Southwell racecourse to work Gleneagles there, before a possible tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I)," which will be run Oct. 31 at Keeneland in Lexington.