Step-Up in trip for Sergeant Sergeant Cecil is set to return to longer distances following a disappointing performance in the Yorkshire Cup. The nine-year-old took the Group Two prize over a mile and three-quarters 12 months earlier, but this time found the slow early pace unsuitable against younger rivals and eventually finished fifth behind Geordieland. He had also been well beaten over a mile and a half on his seasonal debut at Newbury last month in a race won by Yorkshire Cup runner-up Royal And Regal. Now the popular stayer - whose finest hour came when he won the Group One Prix du Cadran over two and a half miles at Longchamp in October 2006 - is to stick to marathon trips in future. "He´s OK, but obviously we were hoping he´d run better than that," said trainer Rod Millman. "We were a bit disappointed and we will see how he is. He´s been out in the paddock since York and he´s not done a lot. "It was a very slowly-run race with a bit of a sprint at the end. Alan (Munro) said the pace didn´t suit him. "He stays two and a half miles and that was only one-mile-six, so he´ll probably run over longer trips now. He´s entered up a few times, but we have no firm plans yet."
