After a strong showing in the 2000 Guineas, Clive Cox hopes that the saying "fourth in the Guineas, first in the Derby" holds true for the French version as well. He is eyeing a trip to Chantilly for Ghostwriter.
The son of Invincible Spirit, who was undefeated as a two-year-old, was tipped off at 14-1 by Richard Kingscote for the first Classic of the summer. He overcame a stumble coming out of the stalls and also lost his balance going into the dip, but he still managed to finish a creditable fourth behind the outstanding winner Notable Speech.
Ghostwriter's performance indicated that he would do well when given more distance to run. Despite having an entry in the Betfred Derby at Epsom, Cox is eager to stick to 10 furlongs and put a bullseye on the June 2 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.
“I don’t think there was any doubt we saw a very impressive winner, but I’m very happy he ran very well,” said Cox. “Things didn’t go entirely smoothly for him, but it’s certainly not a disappointing reflection. He just stumbled coming out of the stalls and also got a bit unbalanced coming into the dip as well. He’s come out of the race very well and I think as a mile winner at two who has undoubtedly done very well over the winner, I was very pleased with the performance, and I now think he will be helped by going a mile and a quarter at this stage. That would be our intention as long as he is fit and well. He’s done a very gentle canter this morning and I’m thrilled he has come out of the race really well. I hope he will continue his progress and I would say, after speaking with Jeff (Smith, owner) this morning, that the French Derby is going to be our likely target.”
Ghostwriter also holds an entry in York's Dante Stakes later this month, but Cox is willing to forgo a fact-finding trip over ten furlongs and cross the Channel with a rested Derby contender because of the short turnaround between the Guineas and his French Classic assignment.
“The Dante comes soon enough and although the Dante would be ideal, we were very keen to run in the Guineas and he justified that with a really solid run,” continued Cox. ”York will come soon enough and then the timeframe between the Guineas and the French Derby is probably going to be much more suitable. He’s a very nice horse and I’m just very pleased he has come out of the race well and we can now look forward to him going a mile and a quarter.”