York // Former England footballer Michael Owen is concerned that his pride and joy, Brown Panther, will have to carry a Group 1 penalty in the Yorkshire Cup on Friday.
Brown Panther became the second horse in succession not owned by Godolphin to win the Dubai Gold Cup on World Cup night in March when he put three-and-a-quarter lengths on Mike de Kock’s Star Empire.
As the Yorkshire Cup is a Group 2 race, Brown Panther must carry an extra two kilograms because of his victory in the Group 1 Irish St Leger in September and will be again ridden by Richard Kingscote.
Brown Panther lines up against five rivals, including Godolphin’s Romsdal, the mount of William Buick, who will represent the in-form John Gosden.
Owen is expected to be in attendance on the Knavesmire on Friday, where his trainer Tom Dascombe has had only two winners from 30 runners in the past five seasons.
“He has been in great form since Dubai and I am very much looking forward to the Yorkshire Cup,” Owen said. “He has never run at York before and, although it should suit him, he has to give weight to some strong opponents.
“Brown Panther has been the horse of a lifetime for me and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with his Dubai win.”
Romsdal is one of a host of horses who transferred from running in the colours of Princess Haya of Jordan to those of the royal blue for this season and he carried his new silks when third in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes at Newbury last month.
Second in the English St Leger in September, he looks a significant danger for Brown Panther, especially with Gosden dominating this three-day meeting.
He secured his first victory in the Dante Stakes for 18 years on Thursday when his Golden Horn beat stablemate Jack Hobbs in the Dante Stakes, the leading trial for the English Derby next month.
In the immediate aftermath of the race it appeared that neither horse would progress to Epsom.
Dubday was fifth in the Dubai Gold Cup and the overall form of the race will be put further to the test on Saturday when he becomes the first British runner for champion Qatari trainer Jassim Al Ghazali.
Dubday, who successfully defended his crown in the HH The Emir’s Trophy in Doha in February, will run in the Listed Al Rayyan Stakes at Newbury, in which Godolphin’s exciting Elite Army and Royal Ascot winner Telescope have also been declared.
Over in America, Bob Baffert was handed a double blow Wednesday when American Pharoah and Dortmund drew the inside two gates for Saturday’s 140th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
American Pharoah will emerge from the inside gate one, from which only one horse in the past 54 years has won.
All four of Baffert’s Kentucky Derby winners have followed up in the Preakness and Lookin’ At Lucky was his most recent winner in 2010.
American Pharoah beat Firing Line by a length in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and his rival was drawn in gate eight, the widest post position in what is the smallest field for the past 15 years.
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