Scottish On Hold After Injury Setback

Scottish has been ruled out of Friday's G3 Glorious Stakes with a pulled muscle, but hopes are high that he can still embark on a foreign campaign at the back end of the season.

Godolphin will now rely solely on the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Elite Army, who will be out to restore his reputation in this opening race on the fourth day of Goodwood.

Scottish won his last outing in impressive style, powering clear in the final stages of the Listed Steventon Stakes at Newbury. Godolphin had been hoping he could build on that run in the Glorious.

Trainer Charlie Appleby explained: "Scottish has pulled a muscle, and as a result will not take his place in the Glorious Stakes. It is a minor injury and I don't expect it will disrupt our plan of taking him to Melbourne.

"But in the interests of the horse, we will by-pass Friday's race," he added.

Elite Army has been on a roller-coaster form ride this summer. He finished a very good second to Kinema in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot, but then came home sixth of seven runners in the G2 Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket.

Saeed said: "I was disappointed with Elite Army at Newmarket. But he seems to be in good form at home and his work has been strong.

"I am hopeful he can bounce back on Friday," he added.

The Roger Varian-trained Mount Logan finished fourth behind Dartmouth in the G2 Hardwicke Stakes, and he and Ayrad pose serious threats in an open race.

Godolphin's Appleby-trained Jungle Cat takes a drop in distance and class when lining up in the five-furlong G2 King George Stakes on the same card.

The sight of 17 runners charging down the straight on this beautiful racecourse on the Sussex Downs is one of the highlights of a wonderful week's racing - and it sets the scene for Saturday's annual 'cavalry charge' in the Stewards' Cup.

Appleby is banking on conditions being to Jungle Cat's liking. "He ran a creditable race in the July Cup (over six furlongs) at Newmarket when up on the pace," the trainer pointed out.

"Coming back in trip to five furlongs will be in his favour, as will the drop in class to G2 level," he added.

Jungle Cat finished 15th to Limato in the July Cup - he was beaten over 10 lengths - but prior to that, he had finished fourth to Profitable in the G1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

While his most recent run had been over six furlongs, his previous four outings were over five.

On paper, it looks a very evenly-matched field. In the July Cup, Washington DC finished fifth to Limato, but he never managed to get a clear crack at the leaders. This race offers him the chance to improve on that performance.