Lavery favouring Park Stakes target for New Energy

Sheila Lavery is likely to turn to Doncaster’s Cazoo Park Stakes as a next port of call for Irish 2,000 Guineas runner-up New Energy.

The New Bay colt finished second in the colts’ Classic in May, coming home a length and three-quarters behind Native Trail at odds of 40-1.

The chestnut has run twice more in Group One company since then, finishing eighth when only beaten three lengths in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

After that run he headed to Deauville for the Prix Jean Prat, dropping down in trip to seven furlongs and disappointing with a seventh-placed performance after overheating and becoming unsettled in the stalls.

The three-year-old now holds an entry for Doncaster’s Park Stakes and Leopardstown’s Clipper Logistics Boomerang Mile, both on Saturday, with the former race the probable destination come the weekend.

“That’s where my preference is, I’ve left him in the Boomerang just in case something happens but my preference is the Doncaster race and he’s due to travel on Thursday,” said Lavery.

“We’re really pleased with him, I think he’s in a really good place.”

The gap between New Energy’s Deauville run and Saturday’s intended Doncaster appearance is exactly two months, a break Lavery considers him to have improved for.

“I feel like that’s benefitted him big time, we’re very happy with how he is and his demeanour – he’s in a good way,” she said.

The ground at Doncaster is currently described as good, good to soft in places with rain forecast between now and the race, conditions Lavery expects her runner to be untroubled by.

“As long as it’s not fast, I think he’ll go on any ground, just not firm,” she said.

“As long as the ground isn’t firm, I don’t think it will be an issue at all for him.”