Artistic Star connections eyeing St Leger Artistic Star, trained by Ralph Beckett, is set to make an appearance in the John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on his next outing. Connections also have one eye on the St Leger later in the season. Following an impressive debut at Nottingham towards the end of last year, Artistic Star secured another victory in a competitive novice event at Sandown in May, maintaining an unbeaten record. This performance earned the talented son of Galileo a chance in the Derby at Epsom, where he finished an admirable seventh behind Auguste Rodin. Artistic Star followed this outing with a credible third-place finish in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot behind King Of Steel. Considering the relatively short time span in which Artistic Star has made three appearances, connections opted to skip the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket's July meeting. Instead, the talented colt will next take in Group Three action during the highly anticipated Qatar Goodwood Festival on August 3rd. "He's training very well. We were tempted to run at Newmarket, but we decided not to and we're going to keep him for the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood," said David Bowe, racing manager for owner Jeff Smith. "We're very happy with the way he's training and as we've been quoted as saying before, he has a late birth date and he has had a few quick runs together, and I think he has benefitted a little bit from a longer time between races now. "It will hopefully do him the world of good. He's a very nice horse and well bred and we're in it to race and have fun, but equally the horse deserves the chance to be the horse we think he could be so we will just give him a little bit of time." A strong showing on the Sussex Downs, a place where owner Jeff Smith has enjoyed some memorable days, could lead to a shot at the final Classic of the season at Doncaster on September 16th, with Bowe indicating the team think Town Moor could be the ideal spot for Artistic Star. He added: "That's exactly what we think he should be (a Leger horse). He has that sort of profile and trip-wise it looks to be ideal, so who knows. We're definitely keeping our eye on that option for sure."
