Friday 1 October 2010

Workforce To Run


Workforce will take his chance in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday.

Connections made the protracted decision to send the Investec Derby winner to France following an encouraging piece of routine work on Thursday morning at Newmarket.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for owner Khalid Abdullah, told At The Races: "He went on Long Hill, ridden by Ryan Moore. The main thing was to see his action and his general demeanour, and both were good."

Grimthorpe went on: "He just had a nice smooth piece of work about four and a half furlongs for a blow-out. He had a normal blow and moved well.

"I was mystified when the horse's price went out the other day (on the exchanges). Someone has a few pounds on and the whole thing goes weird.

"The whole point of waiting until the last moment (that he was going to run in Arc) is because he really is an important horse to us. We didn't want to mess people around and they knew from the beginning if they were betting on the horse well in advance then there was a good deal of risk involved."

Grimthorpe believes Workforce will have no trouble handling the rain-softened ground.

"It is going to be pretty soft, although I don't think it's going to be quite as bad as everyone thinks it might be," he continued.

"They had no rain there yesterday and there is going to be the odd shower definitely, so it's going to be on the soft side. I don't think he will mind it, personally."

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt has raced just once since his Epsom demolition, when a disappointing fifth behind stablemate Harbinger in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.