Sandown Aim For Elm Park

Andew Balding is readying Qatar Racing's Group 1 winner Elm Park (GB) (Phoenix Reach {Ire}) for a return to action and is hoping to launch the 4-year-old's season off in the G2 Bet365 Mile at Sandown April 30. “He is going very well at home and he looks great,” said Balding. “He has definitely grown and developed physically. We might go to Sandown for the Group Two race there at the end of the month.” After a brilliant juvenile campaign that culminated in a victory in the G1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster, Elm Park had a rather stop start second season. He ran a solid G1 Epsom Derby trial when third in the G2 Betfred Dante S. at York in April but got jarred up when finishing well behind Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the main event at Epsom. He reappeared with a confidence boosting win in a Listed event at Sandown in September before running a bit too free and ruining his chance in the G1 Qipco Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot on Champion's Day. Elm Park's performances to date leave Balding in a bit of a quandary as to what distance suits him best and he added, “He's in the Lockinge and we will see about that as I am still not sure what his best trip is. We will start him off over a mile and then look to go further mid-summer, I'd imagine.”