William Haggas feels the Maltese Cross team must choose between the Betfred St Leger and Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe following his last-gasp success in the Grand Prix de Paris on Tuesday evening.
Tom Marquand’s mount squeezed through late to overhaul Ancient Egypt by a head and snare the Group One on his first run since chasing home Christmas Day in the Betfred Derby.
Outlining future plans for the colt, Haggas told Racing TV: “The two obvious races for him now are the St Leger and the Arc de Triomphe, and probably not both of them if we want a horse for next year and beyond.
“We’ve got a couple of months to think about it and plan. I guess if he runs in the Leger he might not run again until then. He’s a pretty easy horse to keep fit or get fit. He doesn’t want over-racing.
“And if he goes for the Arc I suppose he’ll go to York with his penalty for the Voltigeur.
"I think two trips to France for the Niel and the Arc is probably asking a lot of him. We’ll see but I haven’t discussed any of this with George (Waud, owner) and his team at all, this is just me thinking out loud. And actually, what happens can very often be a completely different thing entirely.
"Let’s let the dust settle and see where we are but he showed in the Derby he could cope with soft ground, maybe not as effective, and yesterday was quick ground. I gather the time was very fast, just outside Dancing Brave’s track record and two seconds faster than any other Grand Prix de Paris in history, so he clearly goes on fast ground."
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