Michael Dods reports his star filly Azure Blue to be none the worse following her disappointing performance in the July Cup on Saturday.
Having rounded off last season with back-to-back wins at Newmarket, the four-year-old picked up where she left off with a Listed success on the Rowley Mile in early May.
She subsequently got the better of multiple Group One winner Highfield Princess to land the Duke of York Stakes and as a result was among the leading contenders for last weekend’s Group One feature, but could only finish sixth of eight runners.
“She was on the wing, probably racing a bit keenly, but she’s come home fine,” said Dods.
“On the day she probably didn’t run her race, but she’s been fine since she came home anyway.”
The Darlington-based trainer is keen to let the dust settle before committing to future plans. Azure Blue’s big-race entries include the Nunthorpe at York, the Sprint Cup at Haydock and the Flying Five Stakes in Ireland.
“We’ll give her this week and see where we go next – we haven’t made any plans,” he added.
“One of the owners has gone on holiday so we’ll wait until they get back next week, discuss it with them and go from there.”
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