Barry Geraghty, who had not ridden in public since suffering a broken shinbone in March, drew a blank from two rides at Limerick on Sunday in his new role as retained jockey to the leading racehorse owner JP McManus.
Geraghty was appointed to replace AP McCoy as McManus’s principal rider last month. At Limerick he was unplaced on Aidan O’Brien’s Waver in a hurdle event before finishing second on Hash Brown, the 11-8 favourite, in the card’s Beginners’ Chase.
“I had a good blow walking the course earlier as it started to rain going up the back straight,” Geraghty said after his first ride. “I’m fine riding but would be easily beaten in a [foot] race. It’s brilliant, great [to be riding for JP McManus] and that was a nice introduction.”
Golden Horn, who remained unbeaten with a four-length defeat of The Grey Gatsby in the Eclipse Stakes on Saturday, remains a possible runner in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot at the end of the month, Anthony Oppenheimer, the colt’s owner, said on Sunday.
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in early October is also being considered for his final race of the season before possible retirement to stud.
“If the horse is looking good and John Gosden has no problem with him, of course we’ll go for the King George,” Oppenheimer said. “It would be the most exciting thing for me as the company I work for, De Beers, sponsored the race for 34 years and I was closely involved with the sponsorship.
“The problem with the Arc and the Champion Stakes [at Ascot in mid-October] is the ground. Often both are run on soft ground and I don’t think that would suit his action at all. Good to soft wouldn’t be a problem, if it was worse than that it could be a problem.
“The Arc could easily be his last race. The Arc late entry [supplementary stage] is only about three-and-a-half days before the race so we could wait and see. If the ground was heavy or soft, we wouldn’t enter.”
Golden Horn is top-priced at 5-1 for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in a market headed by Treve, the winner of the race for the last two seasons, at 5-2.
Other contests that could be considered as targets for Golden Horn include the Juddmonte International Stakes at York in mid-August, the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and a race at the Breeders’ Cup meeting in America in early November.
“I spoke to John Gosden earlier this year and he wasn’t at all enthusiastic about going to the Breeders’ Cup and I rather agree with him, but that was a while ago,” Oppenheimer said.
“It’s a rather tricky race but I wouldn’t rule out anything, especially if we have heavy ground in the autumn and we can’t run him [in Europe]. Maybe we have to do something like that, but it’s certainly not on the menu at the moment.
“He can’t do everything, unfortunately. If he went for the King George, I’m sure he wouldn’t go to York, but if we have to miss the King George he has already shown in the Dante [in May] that he loves the course and the distance, so it’s no problem.
“I can’t decide myself what is his best distance. He certainly stays a mile and a half, but maybe a mile and a quarter is better for him. I don’t know.”
Nutan, a son of the 2008 King George winner Duke Of Marmalade, gave Peter Schiergen his fifth success in the German Derby with a five-length win in the Group One contest on Sunday.
The form could prove deceptive, however, as several runners, including the favourite Shimrano, who beat Nutan last time out, lost significant ground by running very wide at the final turn.
