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Hannon rules Rosallion out for the remainder of the season

Trainer Richard Hannon has elected to draw stumps with his star miler Rosallion for the remainder of the season.

ROSALLION winning the St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)
ROSALLION winning the St James's Palace Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series) Picture: Healy Racing.

A runner-up to Notable Speech in the 2000 Guineas on his seasonal reappearance, Richard Hannon's charge went on to land the Irish equivalent before a sparkling display in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The son of Blue Point was all set to face his Newmarket conqueror once more in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, but Hannon was forced to withdraw his stable star just a day before the contest due to a respiratory infection.

Hannon hadn't ruled out the possibility of him running later in the season but with ground conditions likely to not suit for the remainder of the year, the Marlborough-based handler has decided to look ahead to the future, with the Sheik Mohammed Obaid-owned colt expected to stay in training as a four-year-old.

Speaking on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Hannon said: "I think that is correct (that he will not run again this season). He's got nothing to prove now. He wasn't right for Goodwood, and he would have run terribly. He had a lung infection, we put him on antibiotics and after three weeks he was bang ready to go again,"

"The ground has gone now so let's look forward to next year – look forward, not back."

Richard Hannon's colt will be a force to be reckoned with in the top mile contests next season and Hannon noted the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot as his obvious first port of call.

Hannon added: "His (first) big race will be the Queen Anne (at Royal Ascot), there's obviously the Lockinge, maybe the Sussex then all those big races, maybe the Breeders' Cup.

"He's definitely staying in training next year. He's the dream horse really and he's a pleasure to have about.

"I just think he's had a long break, and he gets pretty big, he'd need loads of work beforehand, 99 per cent of the time it is very soft ground on Champions Day and I would hate to finish the season on a bad note.

"I would much rather the winter went much quicker looking at a St James's Palace and an Irish Guineas winner."


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