Head-Maarek Outlines 'Defense' Plan

National Defense (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a Group 1 winning juvenile last year for Criquette Head-Maarek is recovering from a slight setback that kept him on the sidelines for last weekend's G1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly. “He's okay, but he had a little setback. He was stiff for a week so I couldn't run him,” said the trainer on Monday. National Defense was among the top rank of French juveniles last year due to his four length win in the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Chantilly in October and found only Al Wukair (Ire) (Dream Ahead) too good on his seasonal reappearance in the G3 Prix Djebel at Maisons-Laffitte in April before running too bad to be true when last in he G1 Abu Dhabi Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Deauville in May. Head-Maarek must now decide on a suitable comeback race to try and get the Sun Bloodstock owned colt's season back on track. “He might go to Deauville, but he won't go for the [G1] Jacques le Marois. That would be too difficult. I will see if I can find a race for him at Deauville, or if not the [G1] Prix du Moulin [at Chantilly in September] would be his race.”