Sprint Cup Up Next for James Garfield
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Photo: Edward Whitaker/Racing Post
James Garfield and Frankie Detorri win the group 3 Greenham Stakes in April at Newbury
James Garfield, who narrowly missed a first group 1 success in the Aug. 5 Prix Maurice de Gheest, is set to return to action next month and will be supplemented for the 32red Sprint Cup Stakes (G1) at Haydock.
George Scott's 3-year-old was agonizingly denied in the dying stages of the 6 1/2-furlong Deauville contest by Polydream Sunday, causing the trainer to lament: "I won't lie, my heart is broken, but I am so proud of him."
Now Scott is eyeing a drop back to six furlongs in the Sprint Cup, for which he needs to be supplemented, before a tilt in the seven-furlong Prix de la Foret (G1) at Longchamp, or the Champions Sprint Stakes (G1) on Champions Day at Ascot.
Speaking at Brighton Wednesday, Scott said: "We are going to run him in the Haydock Sprint Cup, which he will need to be supplemented for. He ran really well at Deauville and is a credit to our yard. We've got options with him now. We're looking at the Champions Sprint Stakes or the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp, and then he'll head to Dubai for the winter. It's nice to be able to plan with him. His races tend to pick themselves."
It has been a whirlwind few years since Scott was granted his training license, and he admitted he did not expect to have accomplished so much so soon.
"I'm incredibly lucky to be in this position after three years, but it's a total team effort and a lot is down to the staff back at my yard. It's great to think that we're still just getting started," he said.