Roger Varian is confident Rahiebb can bounce back from his Gold Cup disappointment as the Goodwood Cup approaches next week.
The Frankel colt was a talented three-year-old, finishing runner up in the St Leger to Scandinavia. Rahiebb made a winning debut this season, comfortably taking the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup. That form has failed to work out though, and he couldn’t replicate it at Royal Ascot.
However, Varian has suggested it was the trip that beat him, and he can return to form at Goodwood. Varian told the Racing Post: “I think you have to put Ascot down to the trip. It was six furlongs further than he’d raced over before. We thought he’d get the trip. He turned into the straight and made a bit of ground, but didn’t sustain his challenge. He was weak through the line.
“He was fine afterwards, and we were happy with him before, but the Ascot Gold Cup is an extreme trip. He’s only gone beyond a mile and three-quarters once, and that was at Ascot, where he was disappointing. But I don’t think that means we can’t ask him to go over two miles. So we’re planning to go to Goodwood. If he doesn’t get that, we’ll take stock and rethink a programme for him.”
Varian ‘confident’ of a strong performance at Goodwood
Despite faltering late on at Ascot, Roger Varian is adamant Rahiebb can develop into a leading stayer. “We’ve always thought he was a strong stayer,” said the trainer. “His run in the St Leger last year and in the Yorkshire Cup suggest that two miles ought to be in his range.
“He was strong through the line on both those occasions. And if we hadn’t seen his run at Ascot, we’d be confident of him getting the two miles. I’d be confident of a strong performance.
“I thought it was one of his lesser performances last year. It wasn’t to do with the track; it was more so the ground. They’d had an enormous storm before the race, and I think it was run on heavy ground. He didn’t give his true running that day.
“For me, that and the Ascot Gold Cup were the two times he’s not shown his best. He’s been a very solid campaigner, and besides those, he’s been largely progressive. I’d be pretty sure his best days are ahead of him.”