Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) will miss the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot next Thursday after failing to recover from a setback he suffered during his last race at Chantilly. He warmed up for an intended Ascot appearance by landing the G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier last month, but was injured during the Group 2 and has failed in his race against time to be fit for Ascot.
“During his last race he was hit by another horse behind and hurt his leg,” trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre said. “His career is not finished, but Ascot and the Gold Cup will come too soon. We will see how he recovers, but the plan could now be the [Aug. 1 G1] Goodwood Cup.”
After having signed off last season with a Group 1 victory in the Prix Royal-Oak at Saint-Cloud, the Aga Khan-owned 6-year-old claimed another big-race success in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March. Vazirabad was as short as 6-1 second favourite for the Gold Cup, behind last year's winner Order Of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is now trading at around odds of 10-11.
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