Daysofourlives shall miss John Smith's Cup

Daysofourlives will be given more time to recover from his Royal Hunt Cup effort and will sit out the John Smith's Cup at York this Saturday.

Trained by Marco Botti, the four-year-old put in a career-best performance to finish just a length and a half behind in the crowded field at Ascot. Looking ahead to a potential trip to Dubai in the upcoming year, it has been decided to limit his races this season with the Balmoral Handicap on Champions Day at Ascot as a primary goal.

“I’ve been speaking to the owner’s racing manager, and we just decided to give him a little bit more time after Royal Ascot,” said Botti. “Obviously his long-term plan is the race on Champions Day at Ascot (Balmoral) and we’ll work backwards from that. He might go to Dubai so we won’t over-face him, he’ll probably have another couple of runs, and then we’d freshen him up. His owner (Raed El Youssef) lives in Dubai so it makes sense. The Royal Hunt Cup was his best run to date, he was also a little unlucky as he won on his side, but the winner was in another group, but still he ran a good race in defeat. It’s frustrating when you win on your side, but there’s not much you can do about it.”