Sheikh Hamdan will presumably seek to avoid next year’s Sovereign Stakes, the biggest event of the year at this Wiltshire track, as Elarqam’s flop on Thursday made it three years in a row that the owner has had the disappointing favourite in the race.
Like Massaat, who carried his famous blue and white colours into last place two years ago, Elarqam started the year with a fine effort in the 2,000 Guineas but now looks a frustrating enigma, having finished fourth as the Sovereign’s even-money favourite.
“Something’s bothering him,” said a deflated Mark Johnston, musing over the defeat as he stood in the paddock a little later. “He walks around here as quiet as a lamb, then the minute he sees those starting stalls he starts to sweat and he’s very much on edge.”
Elarqam made the early running and, Johnston reported, gave no initial indication to his jockey, Jim Crowley, that something was amiss, for all that he tended to hang right. “But he just found nothing. So we’ll go home and think again.”
The race was won with a grinding performance by Plumatic, which means André Fabre, 41 years after he started training, has finally tasted success at Salisbury. Johnston, meanwhile, has hit a dry spell with just four winners needed to become the most successful trainer in British racing history.