Vintage Crop or Saval Beg next for Saddler's John Oxx intends giving Saddler's Rock one run on home soil ahead of the Ascot Gold Cup. The Currabeg trainer will choose between the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan on May 19th and the Saval Beg Stakes at Leopardstown on June 7th for his classy stayer ahead of the Royal Ascot showpiece on June 20th. Oxx reports last year's Goodwood Cup winner to have returned in great shape following a luckless run in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan. "He's come back sparkling. He didn't really have a race. The saddle slipped and the jockey had a job just to stop the saddle going underneath," he said. "He didn't have a race and only lost one kilo and he was as fresh as a daisy afterwards. "We might run him in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan or the Saval Beg Stakes at Leopardstown. We will try to give him a run before the Ascot Gold Cup." Saddler's Rock was second in the Saval Beg last summer before finishing a close third behind Colour Vision in the Gold Cup.
