Field Of Gold is the favorite to avenge his Newmaket defeat by Ruling Court and Thady Gosden believes the son of Kingman has plenty in his favor in the St James's Palace Stakes (G1) at Ascot Racecourse June 17.
He put that Two Thousand Guineas (G1) disappointment behind him when streaking away under Colin Keane at the Curragh, while this has been a late change of plan for Charlie Appleby's Ruling Court after he was taken out of the Derby equation on the day of the Classic at Epsom.
Thady Gosden, who trains with dad John, said: "He's been in good order at home since his win in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas and the likely fast ground will play to his strengths.
"It's a small but elite field and he goes there in good shape. His draw in stall five is a positive as it will give Colin Keane options rather than being drawn close to the rail, which can make things tricky."
Henri Matisse leads O'Brien pursuit of perfect 10
No trainer has won the St James's Palace Stakes more than Aidan O'Brien, who will secure the contest for a tenth time this year if Henri Matisse can upset Field Of Gold and Ruling Court.
With respect to Officer and First Wave, O'Brien's two other runners, it's Henri Matisse who carries the strongest credentials into the race, having landed the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1) at Longchamp last month.
Henri Matisse will break from stall one, the same gate Rosallion won the race from last year and from which the O'Brien-trained Circus Maximus triumphed in 2019, and the trainer views the gate as advantageous to his Classic winner's running style.
"Stall one should be fine for Henri Matisse," O'Brien said. "Ryan (Moore) likes to take his time on him anyway. It was always the plan to come here with him after the French Guineas and everything has gone well with him since. We're very happy with him.
"We think Officer is a lot better than he showed in the Irish Guineas (when seventh). That was a very messy race for him as Field Of Gold leaned in on Donnacha's horse (Comanche Brave) and he, in turn, leaned in on Ryan and he got no chance to stride out properly.
"We think he'll leave that run behind him."
Meehan has 'maximum confidence' in Rashabar as he takes on Classic trio
Dismiss Rashabar at your peril—that's the message from trainer Brian Meehan as pre-race focus for the St James's Palace Stakes focuses on the Two Thousand Guineas winners from Britain, Ireland, and France.
A surface-level view of Rashabar's runs this year might say he can't compete against Ruling Court, Field Of Gold, and Henri Matisse, but Meehan urges a deeper inspection.
Not only has Rashabar endured a stop-start spring, Meehan insists his performances from last year can be compared favorably with the big three. Not only that, he's last year's Coventry Stakes (G2) winner.
"We had an interrupted spring with him and even going into the Irish Guineas he was still a little bit short and in need of the run," Meehan said. "He's been super since then and did a particularly nice piece of work last week, I have to say.
"If you look at all the big European three-year-old races for colts this year over a mile and pick a formline, which is the old-fashioned way people approached these things, then you'll see him coming up time and again; he has form with all of these horses from last year's Coventry, the Prix Morny and the Lagardere.
"He wasn't 110% for the Irish Guineas, but I'm going into this race with maximum confidence in him that he'll do his best, as he always does, and that he's as well as I can have him. He's a class horse."
