Clover looking to Lonsdale Cup for Al Nayyir Al Nayyir May Get Another Shot at Lonsdale Cup Glory Al Nayyir could return to York for a second attempt at the Lonsdale Cup after another narrow defeat in the Coral Marathon at Sandown. The seven-year-old, trained by Tom Clover, was previously beaten by just a short head in the 2023 edition of the Lonsdale Cup. Since then, he has competed internationally, running in the Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia and the Dubai Gold Cup. Back in Britain, he has twice finished a close second at Sandown — most recently behind Coltrane. On the possibility of returning to York, he added: “He could well go back to York... We’ll see how he is, but it could well be the plan at the moment.” Mixed Results for Rogue Lightning and Tabletalk on Busy Saturday Elsewhere, Clover’s sprinter Rogue Lightning turned in a respectable performance in the Group One July Cup at Newmarket, finishing ninth and only a few lengths behind the leaders. “He ran well, it feels like he loves being in trouble and it’s hard to find a clear passage through,” Clover commented. The plan now is to build him up again for the Dukhan Sprint in Qatar, a race he won earlier this year. Meanwhile, Tabletalk showed promise in the Group Three Silver Cup at York but weakened late to finish third behind Al Qareem. “I’d like to think he’s up to winning a Group Three... but we might have ran him back a bit soon,” Clover reflected. “We’ll give him a quiet week and build him up from there.”
