Board Bypasses French Run

Ed Dunlop has ruled Ouija Board out of Sunday´s Prix Vermeille at Longchamp but last year´s dual Oaks winner remains firmly on course for the Breeders´ Cup.

The Newmarket handler had planned to run his crack filly in the mile-and-a-half race after she scoped dirty and was forced to miss last weekend´s September Stakes at Newmarket.

However, connections have decided she needs more time to recover and are evaluating options ahead of her bid to capture the Filly and Mare Turf race for the second consecutive year.

'She worked this morning with Kieren Fallon on board and she worked well,' said Dunlop. 'But after discussions with Kieren, Lord Derby and myself we decided that race was going to come a bit too soon.

'She doesn´t run at the weekend and I cannot say where she is going to run next.'

Ouija Board won four of her five starts last term and came with a telling run to land the Filly and Mare Turf, run at Lone Star Park last year, by a length and half.

'Everything is geared towards the Breeders´ Cup but we are running out of time to get her a prep race in Europe,' Dunlop continued.

'There are other options in America if we wanted to go there earlier. There is the Flower Bowl, which I won with Lailani, and she could go there.

'If everyone was happy with her it wouldn´t bother me going for the Breeders´ Cup without a prep run, and that is why I can´t say for sure what we are going to do.

'She is a clean-winded filly, has never needed a huge amount of work and we could go straight to the Breeders´ Cup.

'She also has the option of going for a racecourse gallop. We took her to Lingfield and that went very well, before we had a little hiccup again, which is a real shame for the Derby family.'

Ouija Board´s only defeat last term came in the Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe when she flew late on to take third, although she is likely to swerve this term´s renewal.

Dunlop added: 'I have to say she is unlikely to run in the Arc. The race is often run on soft ground and has never really been a number one option.'

The four-year-old has been off the track since disappointing on her seasonal debut at the Royal meeting, when she finished seventh behind Azamour but returned home with a small stress fracture to her near-fore cannonbone.

(C) PA Sport