Nathaniel to reappear at Sandown Last year's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Nathaniel is likely to start his campaign at Sandown next month before trainer John Gosden considers the prospect of another clash with the mighty Frankel. Last seen finishing fifth in the Champion Stakes, Lady Rothschild's colt has been pencilled in for the Piper Heidsieck Champagne Brigadier Gerard Stakes at the Esher track's prestigious evening meeting on May 31. "We are aiming for the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown and possibly onto the Eclipse, where he could meet his old friend Frankel," said Gosden. "He has only met him the one time before, when he was second to him at Newmarket in what turned out to be a very strong maiden. It would be lovely to meet one more time. "Hopefully after that he can go for the King George again." Gosden has a rich crop of older horses to go to war with, including two former St Leger winners. Last year's hero Masked Marvel, who was last on his final start in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, remains in training at four. "He could start off in the Jockey Club Stakes at the Guineas meeting and after that there are races like the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the Coronation Cup to look at," Gosden said. "He could also end up running in the King George." Arctic Cosmos, the previous year's Leger hero who has had issues with injury, is set for longer trips, with Gosden reporting: "He won well at Kempton last weekend and is on course for the John Porter at Newbury and then the Yorkshire Cup." Colombian, regularly placed at Group level, may return in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown, while last year's Oaks third Izzi Top is still at Clarehaven Stables as a four-year-old. "She might go for the Middleton Stakes at York but I'm toying with the Windsor Forest Stakes at Royal Ascot. She'll tell me where she's going," Gosden said.
