Golden Horn ruled out of classic showdown

Anthony Oppenheimer, who owns Golden Horn, has ruled out an entry for his charge in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in October.

The three-year-old colt is undefeated from five starts and won the Investec Derby at Epsom before clinching a second Group 1 success at Sandown in the Coral-Eclipse.

The John Gosden-trained charge was expected to extend his winning run in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stakes at Ascot recently but had to be pulled out due to the ground conditions being too soft.

Golden Horn has been confirmed for the Juddmonte International at York on August 19 but fans were also hoping the colt would go head-to-head with American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

However, any hopes have been dashed after Oppenheimer confirmed there are no plans to run on the dirt and travelling over to America is not really in their plans.

“It’s a complete no-no, on dirt certainly,” he said. “There’s absolutely no way he’ll run on dirt. First, it’s quite a long bet for him to go to America anyway. Second, if we were to go to America he’d certainly only race on grass.”