James Cummings has given the strongest indication since Anamoe’s defeat in last Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes that a trip to England remains on the cards for the four-year-old.
The Queen Anne Stakes on Day 1 of the Royal Ascot meeting had long been touted as a favoured swansong for Anamoe, until his 2-1/2-length third placing behind Dubai Honour and Mo’Unga at Randwick.
But Cummings believes the son of Street Boss was below his best last weekend and remains confident he can rebound for the 1609-metre Group 1.
“He couldn’t have pulled up much better – he’s pulled up fantastic – I’m delighted with him and we’ve given him an easy week and I think that we’re quite keen to take the horse to Royal Ascot,” Cummings told SENTrack.
“Just bear with us as we just do our final checks and balances and be sure that we’ve got a green light.
“We didn’t get the fairytale ending in the Queen Elizabeth that we would have hoped and I think I’ve seen my horse go better than he went on Saturday but he didn’t get beaten that far.
“For the horse, in my mind, to have improvement in him freshened up for an assault on the Queen Anne, there’s enough there for me to be encouraged to tackle that challenge with a nine-time Group 1-winning champ.”
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes was Anamoe’s first defeat this preparation and only the second defeat of a season that has generated six Group 1 wins, including the Cox Plate.
With a stud career beckoning at the end of this preparation, Cummings sees upside in a European campaign for the winner of 14 of his 25 starts and $12 million in stakes.
“For the sake of the horse and his reputation, I think that there’s everything to be gained by campaigning the horse in Europe and taking them on,” he said.
The Queen Anne Stakes will be run on June 20, while Anamoe has also been nominated for the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes (1609m), which will be run at Newbury on May 20.