Fresh from his first Group One success in Sunday's Prix de l'Abbaye in Paris, Co Dublin trainer Ado McGuinness is contemplating travelling even further afield with his star sprinter A Case Of You.
A trip to Del Mar near San Diego for the Breeders' Cup next month is being examined for Ireland's latest sprint star while Hong Kong in December hasn't been ruled out either.
A Case Of You arrived back in Lusk from Longchamp on Tuesday morning but could be on his travels again soon.
“The horse came off the truck this morning and we’re very happy – he’s 100 per cent. He’s a great horse to grub – he’s never left a nut at all. He’ll go out for a roll and a pick of grass now,” McGuinness reported.
“He’ll get a few nice, easy days to freshen up and then we’re going to prepare him for Del Mar, so long as there are no mishaps or anything.
“We’ll make an entry for Hong Kong as well, just in case there’s a hiccup going to America.
“The Turf Sprint is five-and-a-half [furlongs] and it’s a bit tight, but if he had a nice draw I think it would make a big difference and I think this lad would come from anywhere,” he added.
Separately, an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) appeals panel has cut the penalty given to Daniel Dunne, the authorised representative and partner of trainer Katy Brown, for verbal abuse and insulting behaviour towards officials at a Cork fixture in April.
In May a referrals panel heard how Dunne had appeared before the racecourse stewards in Cork after a complaint by the IHRB vet on duty that she had been verbally abused.
It was told Dunne “lost the head” at what he felt was a failure to withdraw a Brown-trained runner at the start after another horse beside it got upset in the gates and was withdrawn.
Justice Leonie Reynolds ruled that Dunne had shown a complete lack of respect to the IHRB vet in terms of verbal abuse and vile language which caused her "understandable distress".
He was also found to have been shown “wholly impermissible and insulting behaviour towards the stewards” and was disqualified for six months with the final three months suspended.
However, an appeals panel heard an appeal by Dunne last month and ruled that while a disqualification was warranted they were suspending the final five months of the penalty.
Other IHRB news on Tuesday brought details of a failed appeal by Joseph O’Brien against the handicapping of the JP McManus-owned Flying Scotsman.
O’Brien was unhappy with how the horse ran off a rating of 83 at Roscommon in late August and was restored to a former rating of 85 afterwards.
The trainer said he believed the horse had shown in Roscommon he could not be competitive off a mark of 83.
After hearing evidence from the senior Flat handicapper, Garry O’Gorman, the handicapping appeals panel disallowed the appeal and Flying Scotsman’s 85 mark remains.
