Lifeplan on course for Middle Park outing

Declan Carroll’s Gimcrack winner Lifeplan will head next for the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on September 27.

The Kodi Bear colt arrived on the Knavesmire with one run under his belt as he claimed one-length victory at Thirsk in late July.

He remained at the same six-furlong trip for the Gimcrack but stepped sharply up to Group Two level, a hike in calibre that proved well within his reach as he prevailed by a length under Zak Wheatley.

The Middle Park was mentioned as a next step in the aftermath of the triumph and that remains the plan, with the two-year-old’s season likely to come to a close afterwards as Classic aspirations await next term.

“He’s come out of York grand and we’re looking at the Middle Park for him,” said Carroll.

“He would like a bit of juice in the ground, it was plenty quick enough for him at York at this stage of his career so we’d really be keeping an eye on the ground.

“He’d never really been away from home much, he’d not been a breeze-up horse or anything like that but he has been very professional in everything he’s done right from the start.

“The Middle Park will definitely be his last run this year, we won’t run him again after that. We’ll be looking at him as a Guineas horse if everything goes well at Newmarket.”