The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Nostrum could return during the July Festival at Newmarket.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Nostrum could return during the July Festival at Newmarket.

The Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes is run on the Thursday of the three-day July Festival at Newmarket and has been won by some notable names in the last decade, such as Baaeed, Beat The Bank and Al Suhail.

Nostrum was a comfortable winner at Sandown Park on debut and was immediately stepped up in class at Newmarket on his second start, scoring by one-and-a-quarter lengths in the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes. He backed up two weeks later in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes over the same course and distance, finishing third behind fellow Juddmonte-owned colt Chaldean.

The Kingman colt was available at 8/1 for the 2000 Guineas but was ruled out of the race due to pulled muscles in mid-April.

Barry Mahon, European racing manager for Juddmonte, said: "He's in good nick and is getting close. A loose plan is that he will run in the Henry Cecil at Newmarket's July Meeting. It's the one-mile Listed race that Baaeed won a couple of years ago.

"We were probably about two weeks short of being ready for Ascot and Sir Michael said let's take our time and start off slow. So that looks like the plan as long as everything continues to go OK between now and then.

"It's not the be-all and end-all [missing the start of the season]. If you are a Group One horse then there are plenty of races in the second half of the season and even next season if he is a Group One horse, he'll be able to showcase his talent.

"From a commercial point of view, you would love to be there for the Guineas and Ascot etc but I suppose you have to remember that with Chaldean as well, we would probably have been trying to keep them apart anyway."