Elarqam on comeback trail as team eye historic York Stakes double

Elarqam will head to York on Saturday on a retrieval mission as he bids to become the first dual winner of the Sky Bet York Stakes.

Big things were expected from Elarqam after his impressive victory in the race last year, but he failed to hit the heights after finishing third in the Juddmonte International.

Connections of the Mark Johnston-trained five-year-old, a son of Frankel out of the stable's brilliant mare Attraction, are hoping a return to York will see him in a better light.

"He won the race well last year, beating a decent horse [Addeybb], and then ran a very good race in the International when we thought he was unlucky," said Angus Gold, racing manager to owner Hamdan Al Maktoum.

"He seems to like York and hopefully we can get him back on track."

Elarqam, who is 2-1 favourite with the sponsor ahead of Telecaster (3-1) and Aspetar (9-2), will drop back to a mile and a quarter, having finished a disappointing sixth in the Hardwicke Stakes over a mile and a half at Royal Ascot.

"He didn't seem to be at his best at Ascot and never looked like winning at any stage," said Gold. "I always thought he'd get a mile and a half, but he didn't finish off that day when the combination of the trip and soft ground wouldn't have helped."

Mountain Angel: Royal Ascot winner suffered a fatal injury on the gallopsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Royal Ascot winner Mountain Angel was taken out of the race on Wednesday after sadly suffering a fatal injury on the gallops.

Trained by Roger Varian for owner Ziad Galadari, Mountain Angel landed the Listed Wolferton Stakes last month under James Doyle.

The consistent six-year-old won five times in 23 starts – and finished second nine times – to earn just over £200,000 in prize-money.

Sky Bet York Stakes
Sponsor: 5-2 Elarqam, 3 Telecaster, 9-2 Aspetar, 6 Fox Chairman, 7 King Of Comedy, 8 Regal Reality, 10 Lord Glitters

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