Goodwood on radar for racehorse Raa Atoll

GOODWOOD: The Qatar Goodwood Cup is a potential next target for Raa Atoll following his fine effort in defeat at the Curragh last month.

The son of Sea The Stars won twice last season when trained by John Gosden, and went on to finish fourth in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.He changed hands for the relatively modest fee of 30,000 guineas last October, and made a flying start for his new owner-trainer Luke Comer when landing a Group Two in Germany in May — beating a fellow Irish raider in the Willie Mullins-trained Thomas Hobson.

The four-year-old was a shade disappointing when sixth in the Belmont Gold Cup on his next start, but bounced back to form by finishing third in the Curragh Cup in the hands of Frankie Dettori.

Comer’s assistant Jim Gorman said: “He ran superbly at the Curragh — we were delighted with the run. “Frankie was delighted with him, too. He just felt the ground was a shade fast for him, and on good ground he’d have performed even better. I think we just want good ground. It wasn’t the Curragh’s fault, but it was good ground on the Thursday and the ground had just dried out a bit by the Friday. I don’t think we’ll run him when there is firm in going description, going forward. He’s in the Goodwood Cup and the Irish St Leger — and he’ll go for one of those.”

The Goodwood Cup takes place on day one of the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Tuesday, July 30. The Comer Group International Irish St Leger is run on the second afternoon of Irish Champions Weekend at the Curragh on September 15.