Last year’s Irish Derby winner went to Royal Ascot unbeaten in two starts this year and was sent off the 13/8 favourite for the 10-furlong feature on Wednesday after registering the third Group One of his career in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh last month.
However, he could only finish fifth, beaten seven lengths behind impressive winner Ombudsman, with trainer Aidan O’Brien now inclined to freshen up his leading middle-distance performer before returning to Paris in the autumn, where he was third 12 months ago.
O’Brien said: “He’s going to have a little break now and he’ll come back for an Arc prep and then go to the Arc.
“The 10 furlongs was always going to be a bit tight for him and he’s always been a mile-and-a-half horse. He stayed at 10 as it suited us to stick there for now.
“He’ll have something like the Royal Whip or something at the Curragh [August 16] on the way to the Arc.”
Meanwhile, Cercene could be facing a step up in trip if connections decide to run the Coronation Stakes winner in next month’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh,
The Australia filly provided trainer Joe Murphy his first Group One winner on Friday but is yet to race beyond a mile.
Assistant trainer Joe Murphy junior said at Down Royal on Saturday: “All three races this year, prior to Ascot, have not really been run to suit her. They were a little bit slow and she got a little bit far back the first day in Leopardstown.
“We were very confident we were going to be in the first three. She was massively overpriced. This was the plan, this was her first half of the year. I suppose we will have to think about an Irish Oaks.
“It is a three-year-old only race and we will have to think about it. The sire says she will [stay], the physical specimen probably says she won’t.”
Another set to step up in trip is Ruling Court following his Royal Ascot reversal, with both the Coral-Eclipse and the Grand Prix de Paris under consideration.
Charlie Appleby’s English 2,000 Guineas hero was slated for an immediate leap up to a mile and a half for the Derby before being withdrawn on the day at Epsom and subsequently remained at a mile for an all-star rematch with Newmarket runner-up Field Of Gold in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
However, after seeing his Rowley Mile rival turn around the Guineas form in style, Appleby is now relishing the next stage of his career up in distance, despite also being eager to see how the cards fall into place before playing his hand.
“We’re very much letting the dust settle but the signs are he has very much come out of the race well,” said Appleby.
“We’ll see where respective winners from the whole meeting go in respects to where we may head. Ombudsman was of course very impressive in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and it will be interesting to see where John and Thady [Gosden] steer him towards.
“We’ve mooted an Eclipse with our fellow but I’m not afraid of going straight up to a mile and a half which we were going to do in the Derby and we have got the option of the Grand Prix de Paris.
“It’s your last option against three-year-olds so that could be a nice race to take a look at but we’ll let a bit more dust settle before we confirm a plan.”
While Ruling Court may be heading up in distance, it appears likely Appleby’s other Classic scorer Desert Flower will be dropping back in trip after her third at Epsom in the Oaks.
Sent off the 11/10 favourite after a sublime performance on her return in the 1,000 Guineas, the challenge of Epsom on rain-softened ground ultimately proved too much, with the Moulton Paddocks handler happy to give her as much time as necessary to recover from her Oaks exertions.
“You know she’s had a race at Epsom for sure and as I’ve said previously the ground and the track were the undoing of us,” added Appleby.
“It might have looked like she stayed but I don’t think she did being brutally honest, or didn’t stay well enough for that level.
“I’m going to give her a little bit of time and there’s plenty of options for her at a mile and a mile and a quarter. She’s a filly who owes us nothing and for now we will give her plenty of time.”