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Foreign date open to Success Days

Success Days
Image: Success Days could be on his travels

Trainer Ken Condon is considering sending stable stalwart Success Days to Saint-Cloud at the weekend in search of soft ground rather than running him on home soil.

At this stage, conditions could be more favourable in France where the target is the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud over a mile and a half, although Condon will continue to monitor the weather ahead of Sunday's Group One.

The mile-and-a-quarter Group Three Finlay Volvo International Stakes at the Curragh on the same afternoon is the other option for the mud-loving five-year-old.

"We got an inch of rain overnight on Monday at the Curragh but it's still good and good to firm ground, so it's unlikely he'll go there," said Condon.

"He's in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on Sunday and there is a possibility of a lot of rain towards the weekend in France, so we are looking at that quite closely. They could get up to 30 millimetres, but we'll have to see what happens."

The County Kildare handler was pleased to see the form of the Tattersalls Gold Cup, in which Success Days was fourth, given a boost at Royal Ascot by both the winner, Decorated Knight, and the third, Deauville.

He said: "The horse is very well and it's a pity the Curragh race was run on the Sunday as opposed to the Saturday. It would have suited us better. It's hard to believe, but it had dried out and was almost good ground on the round course. He's at his best when it's soft.

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"In the circumstances he ran a very good race and the winner (Decorated Knight) ran very well to be second to Highland Reel (in the Prince of Wales's Stakes) and Deauville, who was third, ran very well behind Ribchester (in the Queen Anne Stakes) so the form is solid."

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