Trainer John Gosden admits connections have been pleased with Roaring Lion’s current fitness levels as he prepares to run in the Juddmonte International at York later this month.
Connections stepped up preparations for the three-year-old with a racecourse gallop at Newmarket on Saturday.
The grey colt has raced five times since the start of the season, winning twice under jockey Oisin Murphy.
Roaring Lion won last month’s Coral Eclipse at Sandown and was back on the grass on Saturday as he worked just under a mile with a stable companion.
The son of Kitten’s Joy pulled clear during the end of the gallop workout and Gosden says connections are pleased with his current work.
He said: “He worked with a much better horse than he did the last time he did this. I was very pleased with him and he worked very nicely.
“It is the first time he has been on the grass since the Eclipse. The Limekilns this morning was the first time most had seen the grass for eight or nine weeks.
“He has been in great nick. He has been in good form since Sandown and we are happy with him. It is an exciting race with Poet’s Word and Saxon Warrior. There are some lovely horses in it.”
Roaring Lion remains the 3.50 favourite for the Juddmonte, while the famous trainer admits stablemate Cracksman could still be entered.
Gosden added: “It is too far off to say if Cracksman would run. We don’t know what the ground will be. Anything is under consideration, we will just see what the weather does.
“The autumn racing is very important to Cracksman, there is no doubt about that.”
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