Sheikh Mohammed Swoops For Sir Gerard

James Fanshawe's promising three-year-old Sir Gerard could bid for glory in Saturday's £100,000 John Smith's Stakes at Newbury after being sold to Sheikh Mohammed.

The Marju colt provided former owner Miss Rose-Anne Galligan with a memorable day at Royal Ascot back in June, when he proved too strong for 29 rivals in the Britannia Stakes.

Sir Gerard then finished fourth in the totesport Mile at Goodwood on his only subsequent start.

Galligan revealed that she had already turned down offers from would-be buyers prior to the recent sale, but found Sheikh Mohammed's offer too tempting to resist.

'I have sold Sir Gerard to Sheikh Mohammed,' she confirmed.

'We turned down many big offers for him after Royal Ascot, but in the end we got an offer that was too big to turn down.'

Galligan also confirmed that Sir Gerard will continue to race for Fanshawe for the rest of the present campaign.

'A condition of the sale was that Sir Gerard will stay with James at least until the end of the season,' she told the Racing Post.

'I think he is sure to win Group races in the future. I wish the new owner the very best of luck with him and I'll be cheering him on in his future race.'

(C) PA Sport