Withhold playing the waiting game

Trainer Roger Charlton is staying patient with impressive Cesarewitch winner Withhold and will not race him at Sandown.

The five-year-old had been down to run in the Henry ll Stakes at Sandown but will instead feature at the end of next month.

Charlton has now got him down for the Stobart Rail & Civils Northumberland Plate on June 30 and reiterated he will not feature in the Ascot Gold Cup.

“We're going to wait for the Northumberland Plate,” Charlton told At The Races. “The Ascot Gold Cup is not on the agenda. I think he'd need to take a quantum leap to figure in the Gold Cup.

“He's rated 99 so we're going for a handicap next and we'll see how he goes after that.”