Tom Hogan's veteran globetrotter Gordon Lord Byron (Ire) (Byron {GB}) has been forced to skip his intended appearance at Meydan on Thursday after picking up a minor injury. The setback is not serious and Hogan hopes to have the 9-year-old back on track next Thursday. The Dr Cyrus Poonawalla and Morgan Cahalan owned gelding hasn't troubled the judge in his last few starts but Tipperary based Hogan believes the Dubai environment is just what is required to spark his stable star back into form. “Things didn't go right in his last couple of runs,” said Hogan. “He got good ground at the Curragh last July and he ran really well to win the Group Two Minstrel Stakes. He needs good fast ground now. He has not got the legs to pull it out on slow or dead ground. It is a great surface out here and he should love it. There are plenty of nice horses out here, but hopefully we can be competitive,” he added. Although rated 118 at his peak in 2014 that figure dropped to 107 last summer until two consecutive victories at Tipperary and The Curragh in the abovementioned G2 Friarstown Stud Minstrel S. showed Gordon Lord Byron was still a force to be reckoned with. Whatever else he may achieve in the future is surely a bonus as the rags to riches gelding has already banked over £1.7m for connections in a career that has netted Group 1 victories in Britain, France and Australia.
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