Fahey has high hopes for prospect Garswood

RICHARD Fahey admits Garswood has “everything in his favour” as he bids to get off the mark for the year in today’s Timeform Jury Stakes at Haydock.

The four-year-old mixed it at the highest level last season in races like the 2000 Guineas, the Jersey Stakes, the Sprint Cup and the Prix de la Foret at Longchamp.

An excellent third behind Moonlight Cloud in Paris, Garswood was favourite to make a winning return in the bet365 Mile at Sandown last month.

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Well-held in fifth, Fahey believes that run is best forgotten. The Malton trainer said: “The trip (seven furlongs) is right and the ground should be beautiful for him, so we’re hoping he can bounce back. It was a strange day’s racing the day he ran at Sandown. The ground was very testing and nothing was coming from off the pace.”

Fahey does not expect a drop in trip to inconvenience Parbold in the Sandy Lane Stakes at the Merseyside venue. “He was a bit unlucky at Newmarket last time. He probably should have won, but it was nobody’s fault. He went for a gap, the gap closed when he got there and that was that,” he said. “He’s been in good form since, we’re happy and the ground shouldn’t be an issue.”

A millstone worth 2.5 million guineas around the neck of Hydrogen proved too great for the colt to carry at the first attempt as he finished an ordinary sixth on his long-awaited racecourse debut at Newmarket.

The race was won by Wonderstruck for Skipton-born William Haggas who said: “Hopefully it won’t come too soon but all being well she’ll go for the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot. I’d like her to go. With a filly like this, you need them to win a race first and then go for it.”