Retirement considered for Eminent

Eminent may have run his last race after another disappointing display at Goodwood last week.

The son of Frankel mixed it with the very best as a three-year-old last season, running with credit in the 2000 Guineas and the Derby before landing a Group Two in France.

Having rounded off his season with an excellent effort to finish third in the Irish Champion Stakes, trainer Martyn Meade was understandably excited to see what his stable star could achieve as a four-year-old.

However, he has failed to rediscover his spark, finishing down the field in the Huxley Stakes at Chester, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the Summer Mile at Ascot and in the Glorious Stakes on Friday.

Freddie Meade, assistant to his father, said: “We are sort of toying with the idea of calling it a day. For whatever reason he is not performing to the best of his ability.

“We’ve got to look at the glory days with him and think do we carry on or pull up stumps and find him another career. We are looking at all the possibilities.

“Dad and Sir Peter (Vela, owner) have discussed it and we will make a plan in the next couple of weeks.”

Meade was able to provide a more positive update on one of the stable’s exciting juveniles in Confiding.

The Iffraaj colt beat several subsequent winners on his racecourse debut at Newbury and backed that up with a fine effort to finish third behind Dark Vision in Goodwood’s Vintage Stakes.

Considering future targets, Meade added: “There is the Solario at Sandown and something like the Champagne at Doncaster later on, so there are plenty of options.

“I think he was still a bit green at Goodwood and although I don’t think he would have beaten the winner, I certainly think he would have been a lot closer if he wasn’t as green.

“Just coming round the bend, he was a bit all over the place. I think on a flatter, more galloping track we will see him improve again.”