Guineas fourth Elarqam to be aimed at Sky Bet York Stakes in bid to resurrect reputation
Mark Johnston's colt finished just off the pace in the Newmarket Classic but was disappointing in the Irish equivalent
DESPITE only finishing sixth in the Irish 2,000 Guineas when sent off a 2-1 favourite, trainer Mark Johnston hasn't given up on Elarqam.
The three-year-old was unbeaten last season but has not yet produced the goods this year.
After a victory in the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes last September, where Elarqam bested fellow smart type Tip Two Win, the future looked bright for the son of Frankel.
Following a 219 day break, trainer Mark Johnston sent his colt straight to the 2,000 Guineas without a prep run, and he ran a belter to finish fourth behind Saxon Warrior.
However, he couldn't build on that in the Irish equivalent later that month, flopping badly when sent off a 2-1 favourite.
Now, Johnston is hoping that another break and a step up in trip can help his lightly raced inmate return to winning ways.
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His son and assistant, Charlie, said: "The plan at the moment is the Sky Bet York Stakes. He won at York as a two-year-old and we thought that looked like a nice spot to get back on track, hopefully.
"Nothing sinister came to light after Ireland. He was a bit under the weather and he was on antibiotics for a couple of weeks and had an easy time, but soundness wise there were no issues.
"He has been back in full training now for three weeks. He is fit and well and will probably do a bit of work this week, then all systems go for York at the end of the month.
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"At the start of the season we presumed we would be going up to these kind of trips. He ran so well in the 2000 Guineas that we stayed at a mile to go to Ireland, but off the back of that we are pretty certain we need to go up in trip.
"Any ease in the ground would be ideal. We are looking forward to getting him back out."