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No going concerns for Panther

Brown Panther runs in the Henry II Stakes en route to a crack at the Ascot Gold Cup.

Brown Panther runs in the Henry II Stakes en route to a crack at the Ascot Gold Cup.

View from connections ahead of Thursday’s Cantor Fitzgerald Henry II Stakes at Sandown.

Brown Panther has his last outing before Royal Ascot when he takes on the likes of Tiger Cliff in the Cantor Fitzgerald Henry II Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening.

It is exactly 10 years since a horse, Godolphin’s Papineau, managed to take this event en route to Gold Cup glory, and the Tom Dascombe-trained Brown Panther made a strong return when capturing the Ormonde Stakes at his home track of Chester.

That was his first start since getting struck into during his run in the Melbourne Cup, in which he finished eighth.

Joint-owner Michael Owen said: “Following on from Brown Panther’s exciting win in the Group Three Ormonde Stakes at Chester last time out, the Henry II Stakes at Sandown Park seemed the most logical target.

“He came out of the race at Chester in great form and we hope he will run another big race and then go for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.”

The ground is likely to be as soft as it gets at the Esher course but this is not a concern for Richard Kingscote, who told At The Races: “He manages it as well as anything does.

“He doesn’t need it, but he just copes with it better than most.

“He really strode nicely round the bends at Chester, I was pleased with him.

“He always runs his race, always tries his best and always looks magnificent.”

Such has been the wet weather, there is a possibility the stalls cannot be used for a 12-strong field.

Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper said: “We use a big 17-bay stalls at Sandown and as it’s quite heavy, so there may be difficulty in moving it especially from a tight area like the two-mile start.

“If there are a couple of non-runners, the lighter 10-bay stalls can be used and the most likely option if we can’t use the stalls would be a flip-start. We’ll just see where we are.”

Syndicate owner Henry Ponsonby is in a confident mood about the chances of Tiger Cliff, hero of last year’s Ebor for Lady Cecil.

He was moved to Alan King for a hurdling campaign, which failed to materialise, but put in a stellar first effort for his new trainer when taking a close third in the Yorkshire Cup.

“It’s a very good race for him,” said Ponsonby.

“Obviously it’s competitive, but two miles is a plus as the mile and six at York is really the bare minimum.

“He should go on the ground better than many. He’s in very, very good form and, most importantly, so is the Alan King stable.

“If he ran a big race, then you’d have to say the Gold Cup was on the agenda.”

Last year’s Gold Cup sixth El Salvador makes his seasonal reappearance for Aidan O’Brien, with Girolamo travelling from Germany.

High Jinx and Camborne appear other leading players, while Marco Botti has an interesting runner in the ex-German Seismos.

A Group One winner for Andreas Wohler, he is likely to be trained towards the Melbourne Cup as he is now owned by Darren Dance’s Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock.

The top-notch hurdler and chaser Menorah has a first ever start on the Flat for Philip Hobbs.

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