Sunway is on target for the King George © Photo Healy Racing
Sunway is on target for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes following his fine effort to finish second in the Irish Derby.
After a fairly slow start to the campaign given he was a Group One winner last season, Sunway bounced back to form at the Curragh, finishing just three-quarters of a length behind Los Angeles.
The Galiway colt was adding himself to trainer David Menuisier’s list of near-misses in Classics with year with Tamfana and War Chimes also going close in the 1000 Guineas and Oaks respectively.
“He’s absolutely grand, it seems like he didn’t have a hard race and fingers crossed we can run him in the King George,” said Menuisier.
“That would be the race to run him in if we could. He was unlucky in the Prix du Jockey Club (seventh) but he had definitely come on for his previous races and I think he had definitely come on for his last run. I don’t know whether he was a bit rusty or whatever.
“The horse is so talented that he doesn’t do much at home, so sometimes he needs a bit of a reminder that he’s in competition – he just needed a couple of races to put him back in the mood.
“He doesn’t need cheekpieces, I run him in a sheepskin noseband and that seems to do the trick, I don’t think he needs any more than that.”
Menuisier does have one Classic to his name this season, the German 2000 Guineas courtesy of Devil’s Point, but that colt failed to get involved in the Prix Jean Prat on Sunday, finishing eighth.
“Devil’s Point was disappointing but the ground was too quick for him, in my opinion, he couldn’t lay up on that and they went too fast,” said Menuisier.
“They called it good to soft but it was genuine quick ground and we did wonder if he was better on slower ground and now we know.
“We’ll lick our wounds and try again.”
