Juddmonte juggling pack with leading milers

Connections of Lead Artist are confident the Lockinge hero will put Royal Ascot disappointment behind him before the season is out.

The Juddmonte-owned four-year-old claimed Group One honours for the first time at Newbury last month and was consequently among the leading contenders for last week’s Queen Anne Stakes, but he was ultimately well beaten in seventh place.

“I think they just went far too slow, they crawled for four furlongs and then sprinted and Lead Artist is a horse we know stays beyond a mile,” said Juddmonte’s European racing manager, Barry Mahon.

“It just didn’t pan out for us on the day, but he’s a better horse than that, we know that, and we’ll get him back on track and see the best of him again.”

Where and when Lead Artist will bid to redeem himself is uncertain, with Juddmonte possessing an enviable hand in the mile division, with the Irish Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes hero Field Of Gold the undoubted top dog.

Lead Artist holds an entry in Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes, but is unlikely to head that way if that is the chosen target for his illustrious stablemate, while Harry Charlton’s Irish Guineas runner-up Cosmic Year must also be thrown into the mix.

Mahon added: “I don’t know where we’ll go with Lead Artist yet. There’s going to be a bit of juggling there with him and Field Of Gold and Cosmic Year and Jonquil as well.

“We haven’t quite worked it out yet, but we will as we go.”

Andrew Balding’s Jonquil is another looking to bounce back from an underwhelming performance at Royal Ascot, having seemingly found the six furlongs of the Commonwealth Cup too sharp.

He was one of two Juddmonte-owned runners who failed to run up to expectations in that Group One contest, with the Ger Lyons-trained Babouche also well held.

“Babouche was disappointing, she was just too keen and you don’t get away with being that keen in a Group One in Ascot,” said Mahon.

“It was her second time in England and her second time doing that, so we’ll have to go back to the drawing board. We’ll probably keep her in Ireland for the rest of the year and see if we can get her back on track.

“Jonquil was just a bit of a square peg in a round hole – six furlongs was too short for him. Christophe (Soumillon) felt he came home great in the last half-furlong, but he said he needs a mile and we’ll try and find an opportunity.”