Andrew Balding is still eyeing a shot at the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with Kalpana, despite her Saturday defeat on the all-weather.
Second to Giavellotto in the Group 3 Unibet September Stakes when sent off 1/2 favourite under Colin Keane, the four-year-old filly is said to be still on course for Longchamp in early-October, all being well.
“Obviously, we were going there hoping and expecting to win," Balding said on Racing TV's Luck On Sunday show. "But I think on reflection, the time of the race looked very strong compared to the other times on the day, a very, very good horse beat her and she was probably going to come on for the run given that we’d given her an easy couple of the weeks after the King George.
“Look, I’m perfectly satisfied and the whole idea of going there (to Kempton) was to try and prepare her the best way we could for Longchamp in early-October.
“At the moment, I don’t feel that plans will have changed that much. But at the end of the day it is something that will require discussion (with representatives from owners Juddmonte).
“But I would be fairly certain that we’ll be going to Paris if we can.
“I think we had her pretty spot-on for the King George and she went down fighting that day. So hopefully we can get her in that form, which is the aim, and she’s going to be very competitive whatever race we run in.”
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