No Irish Derby bid for Massaat Owen Burrows has ruled Massaat out of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby after he finished a tame ninth at Epsom. Runner-up to Galileo Gold on his seasonal debut in the 2000 Guineas, Massaat flopped in the Investec Derby and the Lambourn trainer is planning to give the son of Teofilo an easy time. "Sheikh Hamdan (Al Maktoum, owner) wants to give him a break and look for something in the middle of summer, so he won't go for the Irish Derby," said Burrows. "He seems fine since Epsom and there are no real excuses as such - he just ran flat. He was going up in trip there but was beaten too soon for that to have been an excuse. "I think we will look at races over 10 furlongs and then look to make a plan." Burrows also felt the good to soft ground may have played a part in the colt's lacklustre display. He said: "I was at Epsom very early and was surprised how soft it was. Usually it drains well, but it was much softer than we had anticipated, so that could have been a contributing factor, but he simply didn't perform as we had hoped he would." Burrows is also keeping a close watch on the weather before deciding if Muntazah will take his chance in the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on Friday. Muntazah, who finished a fine fourth to Wings Of Desire on his return to action in the Dante at York, has shown his best form on decent ground, including when third in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket last September. Burrows said: "We will keep an eye on the weather and hope that the forecast showers will bypass Ascot. "He will likely run if the ground is no worse than good, but may take his chance if it is only just on the easy side of good. We don't race until Friday and Ascot can drain quickly, so we just have to wait and see."
