Concerns about Ascot's defence of Courage Mon Ami

Courage Mon Ami`s connections anticipate knowing more about his chances of defending his Gold Cup title later this week after the elite stayer experienced a setback during practice.

Under Frankie Dettori, John and Thady Gosden's five-year-old defeated Coltrane to win the Royal Ascot showpiece. However, after being second-best to the same opponent in the York Lonsdale Cup in August, the five-year-old has not been seen in competitive action.

Although his participation in the Berkshire showpiece next month seems doubtful, Richard Brown, Wathnan racing`s adviser, remains optimistic about the son of Frankel, who is owned by the company.

“I can’t say Royal Ascot is unlikely at the moment because we don’t know,” he said. “He had a training setback last week, had a little bit of time off and now we are investigating. I know no more than that. We’ll know more, I believe, towards the end of this week. I’m not going to say it’s disappointing because we don’t know what it is. Until we find out exactly what we’re dealing with, I don’t know.”