Roger Varian 'confident' Rahiebb will return to his best in Goodwood Cup as trainer puts forward reason for Royal Ascot no-show

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Roger Varian retains full confidence in Rahiebb and believes he can put his disappointing run at Royal Ascot firmly behind him when he lines up in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup.

The four-year-old finished a tailed-off eighth of 11 in last month's Ascot Gold Cup, which Varian attributed to the trip given it was his first try at two and a half miles. But the trainer thinks the two miles of the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup on July 28 will suit him better.

He said: "I think you have to put Ascot down to the trip. It was six furlongs further than he'd raced over before. We thought he'd get the trip. He turned into the straight and made a bit of ground, but didn't sustain his challenge. He was weak through the line.

"He was fine afterwards, and we were happy with him before, but the Ascot Gold Cup is an extreme trip. He's only gone beyond a mile and three-quarters once, and that was at Ascot, where he was disappointing, but I don't think that means we can't ask him to go over two miles. So we're planning to go to Goodwood. If he doesn't get that, we'll take stock and rethink a programme for him."

Rahiebb finished eighth behind Scandinavia in the Gold CupCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Varian believes Rahiebb's performances in last year's St Leger, when he was a neck second to Scandinavia, and this season's Yorkshire Cup, which he landed in May, offer a much better guide to his stamina than his effort at the royal meeting. 

"We've always thought he was a strong stayer," he said. "His run in the St Leger last year and in the Yorkshire Cup suggest that two miles ought to be in his range. He was strong through the line on both those occasions, and if we hadn't seen his run at Ascot, we'd be confident of him getting the two miles. I'd be confident of a strong performance."

Rahiebb disappointed at Glorious Goodwood last season, when finishing a well-beaten fourth in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes.

Varian said: "I thought it was one of his lesser performances last year. It wasn't to do with the track; it was more so the ground. They'd had an enormous storm before the race, and I think it was run on heavy ground. He didn't give his true running that day.

"For me, that and the Ascot Gold Cup were the two times he's not shown his best. He's been a very solid campaigner, and besides those, he's been largely progressive, and I'd be pretty sure his best days are ahead of him."

Roger Varian: happy to take on Rahiebb's Ascot conquerors Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

The Newmarket trainer is expecting another stern examination against Scandinavia and Trawlerman, who finished first and second in the Ascot Gold Cup, but is convinced Rahiebb deserves another opportunity at the highest level.

He said: "The way he's training at home, we've every reason to believe he can run very well. It'll be a tough race if the two principals, Trawlerman and Scandinavia, turn up. They're hard to beat at the top level, but he deserves another crack at them. 

"He's ready to go and put in a strong performance, and you'd have to forgive him for Ascot, whether it was solely the trip or whether he wasn't quite as good as he was at York."

Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup (July 28)
Ladbrokes: Evs Scandinavia, 11-4 Trawlerman, 8 Al Riffa, 10 Rahiebb, 16 bar.

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