'He was a little bit rusty' - Algiers beaten on reappearance in Grade 3 Durham Cup at Woodbine

Dubai World Cup runner-up Algiers was beaten on his reappearance in the Grade 3 Durham Cup at Woodbine on Saturday as Artie's Storm was too strong for the short-priced favourite in the closing strides.

Algiers, who was initially pencilled in for the Grade 2 Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct the previous Saturday but rerouted after rain turned conditions testing and delayed the contest by a day, raced prominently under Robert Havlin but took time to find a clear passage in the stretch.

"He was a little bit rusty," said Havlin, whose mount was beaten half a length by the Emma-Jayne Wilson-ridden winner. "I jumped to try and go forward and the one on my outside had me pretty tight on the fence. I was worried he was going to be a bit keen if he didn't disappear, so I decided to drop in behind him.

"The fractions really slowed up then and by the time I got any daylight I just ran out of track. It was a good first run back though, he just took a while to pick up and he's used to longer straights than that. I'm not too disappointed."

Algiers hadn't been seen since finishing second to Ushba Tesoro at Meydan in March, and before the race joint-trainer Ed Crisford had indicated the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile was his main target at Santa Anita on November 4.

Paddy Power pushed him out to 8-1 (from 6) for that following his defeat, while he can also be backed at 25-1 for the Breeders' Cup Classic.

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