could be set for more overseas action after a gallant fourth-place finish in the
Cup at Sha Tin.
The Andrew Balding-trained colt is owned by King Power Racing and won the Dante at York last year before finishing fifth in the Derby and narrowly missing out on landing the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes.
This season, he had to wait until November to get his head back in front when winning the Listed Churchill Stakes on the all-weather at Newcastle, a run that set him up nicely for his Sha Tin foray.
In Hong Kong, he was drawn widest of all in stall 11 under Oisin Murphy, but still ran with great credit when passing plenty of his rivals in the home straight to claim fourth place behind local hero Romantic Warrior.
He takes home over £240,000 in prize money for his efforts and could gather more with further lucrative fixtures in warmer climes under consideration before the Winter Derby.
“We were really pleased with his run, he was drawn very awkwardly in stall 11 of 11, so we had no choice but to go back,” said Alastair Donald, racing manager to the owner.
“He had a lot of ground to make up on the leaders, with a kinder draw he would have been a close third, but he still won a lot of prize money and it was well worth the trip.
“He should have won a Group One in America, he was very unlucky there, he’s had a few reasons for his lesser runs this year, so it’s good to have him back to his best now.
“When he was in Saudi, he just wasn’t happy, but in
he was relaxed and at his best, there are a lot of options for him now.
“There are potential races in Qatar and Dubai and then there’s also the Winter Derby. We’re just going to weigh up how he is over the next few weeks and then decide what the final plan for him is over the winter.”