Adayar lined up for September return after pleasing in first workout since May

Adayar came through his first piece of work since mid-May on Wednesday morning and is showing promise ahead of an autumn campaign, Charlie Appleby has revealed.

The trainer gave an update on some of his big-name charges from the Goodwood winner's enclosure after Secret State won the opening handicap to put his name in the frame for the Great Voltigeur next month.

A respiratory infection knocked Adayar out of his early-season target, the Coronation Cup, and last year's Derby winner has done little since. But Appleby hopes to have him ready for the September Stakes at Kempton.

"Adayar had his first bit of work this morning and I'm delighted with him," the trainer said. "He's due to be stepped up at the weekend.

"You're all going to ask, where is he going? I don't want to tell him that because every time I put him on the runners list, something seems to go wrong.

"I'll probably look towards Kempton for the September Stakes, hopefully as a prep for the Champion Stakes. A big thing I've always wanted to do this year is drop him back to a mile and a quarter.

Charlie Appleby: Godolphin trainer hopes to have Adayar ready for the September StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I think it's well within his compass and it'll be good for him. But more importantly, he's the Adayar we were seeing in March, so we're delighted.

"I'm not saying he definitely won't do the Arc. After the September Stakes, we'll make a call but the 1m2f interests me and the Arc will most likely be soft ground again, which isn't to his liking. The ground for Champions Day, we'll see.

"That's his first bit of work since three or four weeks before the Coronation Cup. It's taken us all this time. We haven't been pushing him at all. We've all said, he'll tell us when he's ready and he's been showing us that the last three weeks.

"He was coughing in the spring, unfortunately got a bit of an infection on his lung that was treated. He went in his coat, he lost all of his demeanour and he normally has a great demeanour, some presence.

"He's shown us that in the last month and the last three weeks he's really been putting his toe out there. That's what gave me the encouragement to let him have a little spin along the grass this morning and he was in good order.

"I haven't even put him on a runners list at home because I'm a superstitious old bugger and I thought, if I do that, he'll start coughing again."

Hurricane Lane: 'You won't see him until he gets his ground' says trainer Charlie ApplebyCredit: Edward Whitaker

While Adayar appears set to miss the Arc, Hurricane Lane is an intended runner, so long as the ground has some cut. Appleby blamed ground he feels was much faster than officially described for the horse's flop in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

"He's come out of that race with no issues at all. Simply, he won't run again until the ground changes.

"It was described as soft – we knew it was never going to be that. William [Buick] knew on the way to post that the alarm bells were ringing. When you've run a horse like that twice on quick ground, it wasn't ideal.

"He's in full work, never missed a beat, but you won't see him until he gets his ground. I'm aiming at the Prix Foy but if it's good to firm, he won't be going there either.

"I would love to get him in the Arc, on the back of what we saw at Ascot, with Torquator Tasso running so well. Last year's Arc was rock-solid form.

"His Hardwicke run was great, we were expecting a natural progression but we were just unfortunate with the circumstances we met."

Appleby now has two potential candidates for the Prix Jacques le Marois in the middle of August, as Coroebus could go there, having missed the Sussex Stakes with a late setback. Native Trail was Godolphin's original contender for the Deauville race but might now be diverted to York.

"We will make the decision nearer the time of whether the team would like us to run the two. I see no reason why Native Trail couldn't run in the Juddmonte. He was outstayed in the Eclipse by good horses but he didn't not stay himself."

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