'He's still a good horse' - Clive Cox refusing to give up on Supremacy

Clive Cox has lost zero faith in burgeoning stable star Supremacy, but plans are on hold for the three-year-old after his disappointing display at Ascot on Wednesday.

Owned by Jason Goddard, Supremacy won the Middle Park last season, when he was rated Britain's best juvenile.

The son of Mehmas was a big fancy for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June and lined up a 10-11 favourite for this week's Pavilion Stakes, a course-and-distance trial for that prize.

Pavilion Stakes replay

He made little impact, however, finishing last of the eight runners under Adam Kirby.

"We've run a few tests and there's nothing conclusive, so we'll be keeping a watching brief," said the Lambourn trainer. "A couple of figures on his bloods changed from his pre-race checks and we'll know a bit more in a few more days.

"He's still a good horse. That just doesn't banish as it was too below par; it wasn't like he finished second or third and was disappointing – it was way below."

Cox had anticipated improvement from that outing from Supremacy, who is now 12-1 with BoyleSports for the Commonwealth Cup.

He added: "I hope we can regroup, but it's too early to make a plan. We'll see what's what, but he'll be back. He's got such a wonderful temperament and maybe that was a disguising factor, that he's so laid-back. As long as he's healthy, there's still a very good horse there."

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