Clean Bill Of Health For Eminent

The Martyn Meade trained Eminent (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) has come through a series of tests in good shape and is back on course to target the G1 Prince Of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot next month. The 4-year-old was a hot favourite for the G2 Huxley S. at Chester recently but trailed in last under Oisin Murphy. A fibrillating heart was discovered soon after the race but Meade is confident that episode can be classified as a once off.

“He's fine, the conclusion is that it was a one-off and we will continue with the original plan of going to the Prince of Wales's,” Meade said.

Eminent went from traveling powerfully to running on empty in a matter of strides at Chester and it was obvious the colt did not give his true running.

Explaining the basics of the diagnosis Meade said, “It was a terrible shock at the time. It was just one of those things when the electrical pulses that go to the heart and he got a bit excited and missed one of those cycles and that goes through the heart in an irregular rhythm. Looking at all the reports and the ECGs, it is a complete one-off. If it is going to be a problem you can see if it had done any damage. It's actually spot-on normal now.”

With four weeks to go until Royal Ascot Meade has plenty of time to get Eminent back to his best in a quest to secure what would be a hugely valuable Group 1 win for the colt and is planing to leave nothing to chance. “We'll give him a racecourse gallop before and take him into that enclosed environment.”

Another horse with Royal Ascot still on the agenda despite a disappointing reappearance is Limato (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}). Henry Candy's gelding finished a never dangerous 10th in the G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. at Newbury on Saturday but Candy is inclined to put the tame display down to a bug in the stable after a number of his string underperformed over the last week.

“I was very disappointed with the way my horses ran at York and I was disappointed how he [Limato] ran,” said Candy. “I think they are just a bit off-colour. We just have to sit tight with the horses and it will be a different scene in two or three weeks. I expect we'll go to Ascot with Limato if he's back in top form, more likely for the [G1] Queen Anne.”