Rewilding will be bidding to consolidate his position as a leading fancy for the St Leger when he returns to action at York on Tuesday. The Godolphin-owned colt, trained by Mahmood al Zarooni, is on target for the Great Voltigeur Stakes. The French import was given a break after finishing third to Workforce in the Epsom Derby and is building-up for a crack at the Doncaster Classic next month.
"His Derby run was excellent and he was doing all his best work at the finish," said Simon Crisford, the Godolphin racing manager. "After the Derby it was decided that we would wait for the Great Voltigeur and put him on the St Leger trail. "He had an easy time after the Derby and has come back and is doing everything asked of him. We will see how he goes next Tuesday and take it from there. He is in good order and we will see if he can reproduce the sort of effort that we saw at Epsom and Goodwood."
Godolphin have a second Voltigeur string to their bow in the shape of Buzzword, the German Derby winner. But all eyes will be on the clash with Midas Touch, the Doncaster market rival who was second in the Irish Derby having finished fifth at Epsom. Another intriguing subplot will be the race between the Godolphin horse and Corsica, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. Today, Godolphin will launch a two-pronged assault on the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury, with Secrecy and Poet's Voice lining up in the mile contest.
Secrecy, the four-year-old King's Best gelding, is making his first racecourse appearance since finishing a close third in a mile handicap at Meydan Racecourse, Dubai, in February while Poet's Voice came ninth in the Group 3 Prix de la Porte Maillot over seven furlongs at Longchamp, France, last month. The three-year-old Dubawi colt led for much of the way before fading in the closing stages. Frankie Dettori takes the ride on Secrecy, while Ted Durcan partners Poet's Voice.
Saeed bin Suroor, who trains both horses, said: "Poet's Voice has been a bit disappointing so far this year but this race should be at the right level for him and he has been pleasing me in his work. "Secrecy has also been working well and, although this is a step up in class for him, he showed some good form at the end of last season so we will see how he gets on." Seven other starters go to post in the Sovereign Stakes including Dream Eater, who was third in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Hearts Of Fire, winner of the Group 1 Gran Criterium at San Siro, Italy, in 2009 and Sea Lord, who landed the competitive totesport Mile Heritage Handicap at Goodwood last month.
Layman (2005) and Belenus (2006) were both successful for Godolphin in the Sovereign Stakes. Yesterday, Godolphin's Grand Duchy followed Menadati over the line in the EBF motors.co.uk Maiden Stakes at Beverley, England. The Dubai-based stable's Freehand also gave chase but it was not until the final 100 yards that Grand Duchy made any real headway, although the post came too soon as the favourite held on by three-quarters of a length
There was a blow for Jaber Abdullah, the UAE businessman, when Tmaam was withdrawn at the start. * Agencies