Dual St Leger winner Eldar Eldarov has likely run his last race as he recovers from a neck injury sustained in the stalls at the Dubai World Cup.

The Roger Varian-trained five-year-old was due to contest the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan on Saturday to kick off his 2024 campaign after landing the Irish St Leger on his final run last season.

He was loaded into the stalls but another horse kicked out and unsettled him, causing him to rear up and hit his head before being withdrawn from the contest.

The son of Dubawi was sent to the local equine hospital and later treated by two specialist vets who flew over from America at the request of owner Shaikh Khalid.

Eldar Eldarov has undergone an operation on a fracture to his neck and though he is not out of the woods, there are encouraging signs of his recovery after the procedure.

“He had an operation on Tuesday to stabilise a fracture in his neck, initially when he was in that post-operative phase, he had a rough time of things but he’s making progress now,” said Chris Wall, racing manager for Shaikh Khalid’s organisation.

“It will be small steps, he’s got a long way to go but the future is looking brighter than it did 48 hours ago.

“He’s in good hands in the equine hospital in Dubai, they’ve done a very good job so far.

“We flew in two vets from America who said they thought they’d be able to do something for him and they have.

“We are thankful and grateful to them, and to Shaikh Khalid for insisting that we left no stone unturned to try to give the horse a future.

“He still has quite a long way to go, he’s by no means in the clear yet, but the progress report this morning (Wednesday) was positive and he’s moving in the right direction.”

Eldar Eldarov’s future will either be at stud or in complete retirement, depending on how he fares in his recuperation.

“I think we can safely say he won’t be returning to racing, it’s now a question of whether he can do a stud job or whether he just has a happy retirement somewhere,” said Wall.

“We’ll have to see, that all depends on how his recovery goes and it’s a bit early to say for certain.”

Roger Varian is taking the positives out of Charyn’s easy victory at Doncaster on Saturday ahead of Eldar Eldarov’s run in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan.

Winner of the St Leger at Doncaster in 2022, he added another Group One when successful in the Irish version last season.

That was his last outing of the year, with connections electing to bypass Champions Day at Ascot, but he has been in training for a while ahead of his trip to Dubai.

The race is over two miles, however, a distance over which Eldar Eldarov has yet to win at.

“Everything has gone to plan and hopefully the victory of Charyn is a plus,” said Varian.

“They are different types of horse but they have been doing a lot of work on a similar programme because they both had early-season targets.

“So Charyn winning hopefully tells me that Eldar is probably ready, so we are looking forward to it.

“I just wish it was a mile and six (furlongs) because he seems to love the mile and six trip – but two miles around there should be OK.”

Eldar Eldarov made a successful raid on the Comer Group International Irish St Leger at the Curragh, as Kyprios finished a brave second in his eagerly-awaited return to the track.

Aidan O’Brien’s five-year-old dominated the staying scene last season, but had been off since his staggering 20-length success in last year’s Prix du Cadran.

But despite Kyprios being sent off the 4-6 favourite in his quest for back-to-back Irish St Leger victories, the afternoon belonged to Eldar Eldarov as Roger Varian’s charge served a reminder of his own class.

David Egan’s mount was bidding to add the Irish equivalent to the Doncaster Classic he secured 12 months ago and having travelled powerfully throughout, he ran on strongly for a three-and-a-half-length triumph.

It was a welcome upturn in fortunes for Varian who saddled King Of Steel to finish fourth in Saturday’s Irish Champion Stakes, while Eldar Eldarov was back in front for the first time since his finest hour on Town Moor.

Betfair shortened Eldar Eldarov to 7-1 from 14s for the Long Distance Cup on Qipco British Champions Day, with Kyprios unchanged at 6-1.

Last year’s St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov will bid to add the Irish equivalent to his CV when he heads to the Curragh on day two of the Irish Champions Festival.

It promises to be a big weekend for Roger Varian, who is poised to saddle crack middle-distance colt King Of Steel in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 9, while 24 hours later his star stayer will attempt to get back to winning ways and register his first success since his Doncaster Classic triumph 12 months ago in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger.

The son of Dubawi was due to run at the Curragh in the Group Three Leger trial there earlier this month, but got worked up in the early stages of the journey to Ireland and was subsequently declared a non-runner.

Connections will now be hoping for a smoother trip when Eldar Eldarov heads to the Kildare track for his intended outing on September 10.

“He wasn’t travelling very well and we don’t know why because he’s never had that problem before,” explained Chris Wall, racing manager for owners KHK Racing Ltd.

“He got upset travelling and they thought rather than carry on to Ireland they would bring him home. I think they had got into north Wales just beyond Chester.

“The worry was if you put him on the ferry and it deteriorated into something like colic then you are in the middle of the sea and you can’t do anything about it. He just got his knickers in a twist about something so they brought him home.

“The target for him is to go to the Irish St Leger and that is very much still on the cards at the moment. He’s grand and it’s all systems go for that.”

Wall also revealed that the KHK Racing-owned Sakheer is unlikely to take up his engagement in Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup on September 9, but hopes to see the Zoffany colt back in action at Ascot in the Qipco British Champions Sprint on October 21.

Also trained by Varian, last year’s Mill Reef winner was not disgraced in the 2000 Guineas earlier this year, but having failed to truly stay the mile has been off the track since his first run back over sprinting distances in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

“He’s had a few niggly things after Ascot, but he’s back in work and we’re hoping to run him in something this autumn,” said Wall.

“I don’t think he’ll be ready for the Haydock race, that’s not far away now so he won’t make that. But we hope we might have him back for a run perhaps in the Champions Sprint and we’ll go from there.

“It’s been one of those years really where things haven’t quite gone his way, but we hope we can get him back on track and if not we’ll have to hope things go right for him next year instead.

“It’s a tough year at three and if you miss your slots early, which he did, then you haven’t much else and any obvious route back into things. It’s tough, but we haven’t given up on him yet.”

Eldar Eldarov will be given a sighter of the Curragh on Sunday when he makes a raiding mission to Ireland for the Comer Group International Irish St Leger Trial Stakes.

Roger Varian’s St Leger hero could set up a shot at the Irish equivalent on September 10 with a strong showing in the Group Three contest as he seeks his first victory since scooping Classic honours at Doncaster last term.

Having begun the current campaign with a pleasing performance in the Yorkshire Cup, the son of Dubawi was below-par when well held and only seventh in the Ascot Gold Cup.

However, he bounced back with a respectable effort to finish fourth behind runaway winner Quickthorn in the Goodwood Cup and connections feel this is the ideal spot to search for a confidence-boosting triumph.

“That was a funny race, as we know, and Tom Marquand stole it from the front,” said Chris Wall, racing manager for owners KHK Racing Ltd, reflecting on Eldar Eldarov’s showing on the Sussex Downs.

“He acquitted himself well and David Egan was the first to go after and chase Tom Marquand in the straight and, in actual fact, Eldar could have done with being waited with that little bit longer.

“This is an obvious place to go and looks a good opportunity to get back in the winning groove.”

Joseph O’Brien has won this the past two seasons and is well represented in his hat-trick bid, with Royal Ascot scorers Dawn Rising and Okita Soushi, as well as the useful Point King, representing the Owning Hill handler.

Aidan O’Brien’s Library steps up in trip following her third in behind Savethelastdance in the Irish Oaks, while the six-strong line-up is completed by Dermot Weld’s hat-trick seeking Shamida, who registered her first Group-level success when taking the Stanerra Stakes in July.

Also on the card, Unless will attempt to give Ballydoyle back-to-back victories in the Fitzdares Royal Whip Stakes as she steps up in grade following her recent course-and-distances victory in the Listed Michael John Kennedy Memorial Irish EBF Stakes.

The Group Three contest was won by Luxembourg last term and although there may not be that sort of quality in this year’s renewal, there is a handy cast of seven heading to post which includes Noel Meade’s pair of Layfayette and Helvic Dream, as well as Gladness Stakes winner Goldana.

Roger Varian feels Eldar Eldarov has not yet reached the ceiling of his ability ahead of his bid for Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot on Thursday.

The four-year-old is a previous winner at the showpiece meeting, having last season claimed the narrowest of victories in the Queen’s Vase.

He went on to secure Classic honours in the St Leger at Doncaster and lost little in defeat when a strong-finishing second to Giavellotto on his reappearance in last month’s Yorkshire Cup.

Varian has been delighted with his star stayer since and while he has trained several Group One winners in recent years, the Newmarket handler admits having a genuine contender for the two-and-a-half-mile feature is a bit special.

“He’s in great form and has done everything right and everything asked of him since his good run at York,” said Varian.

“It’s exciting to get him back out and back to Ascot, he obviously won at the Royal meeting last year and it is very exciting to have such a strong contender for the Gold Cup.

“It promotes that sort of horse, which is great – we all like to have fast horses and milers but to have stayers is great also and I think the staying programme has had a bit of a resurgence over the last few years and I hope it will continue to be the case.

“The Gold Cup is one of those iconic races, it’s got masses of history and there is always something nice about having a good staying horse. A horse like Eldar Eldarov might be in the camp for two or three years to come yet and as we have seen with some of those good staying horses, they can capture the public imagination as well.

“He’s got a long way to go before he’s held in any similar regard to any of those top staying horses, but he has won a Queen’s Vase, he’s won a St Leger and his profile is on the rise, I think.

“His best days could very much be ahead of him, so we are very much looking forward to running him in the Gold Cup.”

Eldar Eldarov disputes favouritism with Andrew Balding’s Coltrane, who plundered the Ascot Stakes 12 months ago and doubled his course tally with an impressive display in last month’s Sagaro Stakes.

Three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy will partner Coltrane and is relishing the opportunity.

“He’s trained well and won the Sagaro in good style,” he said.

“It looks a hot race, as you’d expect. Eldar Eldarov is the St Leger winner and carries 1lb less, you also have to respect whatever Aidan O’Brien has in the race (Emily Dickinson and Broome) and Courage Mon Ami is an improver as well.

“It’s a wonderful chance and I’m looking forward to riding Coltrane. I watched Yeats dominate the race, and Stradivarius, so it’s great to be riding a horse who is probably going to go off favourite.”

Subjectivist was sensational in winning the Gold Cup in 2021, but an injury which initially threatened to end his racing career has restricted him to just two subsequent starts.

Charlie Johnston’s six-year-old was well beaten on his return from almost two years off in Saudi Arabia, but his third to Broome in the Dubai Gold Cup was a step in the right direction.

Courage Mon Ami is unbeaten in three starts for John and Thady Gosden, but faces a big rise in class as he bids to provide Frankie Dettori with a dream Gold Cup success in his final year before retirement.

Willie Mullins is represented by Grade One-winning hurdler Echoes In Rain, as he looks to become the first trainer to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in the same year.

The daughter of Authorized was last seen winning the Mares Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival and carries the colours of Barnane Stud, which is owned by the family of former England international cricketer Craig Kieswetter.

“Her win at Punchestown was really impressive. When she travels well she has an electric turn of foot and she just powers home,” said Kieswetter.

“Hopefully things work out accordingly throughout the race and she settles down nicely and then she can give everyone a crack coming down the straight there.

“Most importantly we’re just looking forward to another big day at the Royal meeting and it would be amazing if the green and red silks can come home first.”

Eldar Eldarov will be bidding for a second successive Royal Ascot success in next week’s Gold Cup following his narrow verdict in the Queen’s Vase 12 months ago.

Roger Varian’s four-year-old also claimed the St Leger in a fruitful season and returned to action in the Yorkshire Cup when narrowly failing to reel in Giavellotto, to whom he was conceding 5lb.

He will be running over a trip further than two miles for the first time in his career at Ascot, but that is the only question mark regarding a horse who has won on quick and slow ground and could potentially even improve for racing over further.

“He ran well at York and has done everything right since,” said Chris Wall, former trainer and now racing manager to owners KHK Racing.

“Obviously he is going into the unknown over that distance but he’s nothing but a competitor, he’s a tough horse, he likes the challenge and if he gets the trip I think he’s going to be a player.

“Roger is very happy with how everything is so it’s fingers crossed, really.

“Four-year-olds have a great record in the Gold Cup and while the trip is the unknown, he certainly gives the impression that he will stay those distances well.

“His work at home has been very satisfactory, he looks well, so we’ll just keep everything crossed that he puts up a good performance.

“We’re not too worried about the ground. I suppose like everybody we’d like a little bit of juice, so a few showers wouldn’t go amiss but he’s proved he’s effective on any ground, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The owners also hold leading claims in the Commonwealth Cup with Sakheer, the Mill Reef winner who finished seventh on soft ground in the 2000 Guineas.

“He must have a good chance. It was hard to tell whether he stayed a mile on that awful ground in the Guineas, but he acquitted himself well,” said Wall.

“He’s done nothing wrong in his preparation either, so we’ll go there and hope for the best and hope he goes and runs a good race.

“He’s going to have to prove himself exceptional if he’s going to beat Little Big Bear I think, but we’ll see how we go.”

Roger Varian is counting down the days until the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot with Eldar Eldarov following his hugely encouraging return at York last week.

The Dubawi colt was a nose winner of the Queen’s Vase at the Royal meeting last season and went on to claim Classic glory in the St Leger at Doncaster in September.

He had to concede weight all round on his his four-year-old debut in the Group Two Yorkshire Cup and powered home to be beaten just half a length in second place by St Leger third Giavellotto.

Varian is confident his charge will improve for the run and also views the step up from a mile and three-quarters to two and a half miles in next month’s Ascot showpiece as a positive.

“He’s great, he couldn’t have taken it (the run) better and I’ve been delighted with him this week,” said the Newmarket handler.

“His profile looks good for the Gold Cup and the St Leger form is starting to show its worth now.

“His run at York would excite anyone, whoever’s camp he was in. It was just a good run, he hit the line strong, he gave weight to the field and looks like he’ll improve over a bit further.

“We’re looking forward to it.”

Eldar Eldarov is a 4-1 shot with Paddy Power for the Gold Cup, making him their clear second-favourite behind Andrew Balding’s 3-1 market leader Coltrane.

Roger Varian will use Friday’s Boodles Yorkshire Cup as a stepping stone for Eldar Eldarov’s Ascot Gold Cup bid.

Last season’s St Leger winner takes on six rivals in the Group Two contest as he bids to bounce back from a sub-par run in his sole start since, when beating just one rival home in Ascot’s Long Distance Cup.

He won the Queen’s Vase and the Doncaster Classic in both starts over a mile and three-quarters, and returns to that trip on the Knavesmire.

“He’s really doing well of late and has obviously been very good at both tries over this distance,” said Varian.

“We do see him being very effective when he races over Cup distances, but I think a mile and six furlongs is a good distance to start his season off at, and we hope he runs a good, solid race on Friday that means we can then take aim at the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

“We’ve got to see how he runs, but we would love to see a positive performance, win or lose. It looks a strong race, but he’s a horse we are looking forward to running and hopefully he can come out of the race giving us the collective opinion he can be a Gold Cup horse.”

In an interesting renewal, 2021 Ebor runner-up Quickthorn returns to the scene of last season’s 14-length Lonsdale Cup success for Hughie Morrison.

His trainer is hoping he can start to garner the plaudits he feels the Nathaniel gelding deserves, with Oisin Murphy retaining the ride as regular partner Tom Marquand is unavailable.

“It was a Flightline-type performance, but he didn’t get the Flightline-type recognition,” said Morrison.

“It might have been a once-in-a-lifetime performance, but I do think it was exceptional, and the disappointment was that neither Stradivarius nor Trueshan ran that day, because we’d have got the credit then.

“Coltrane obviously didn’t run to his best, but Quickthorn absolutely dominated him and I think if you look at the sectionals, he went fast all of the way.

“The ground had gone when he went to Longchamp, and it was the same story at Ascot. The year before he’d had enough by October, and I think that was probably a factor again, too.”

Morrison is keen for the habitual front-runner to replicate that form back down in distance after a somewhat disappointing sixth when taken on early in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March.

“As for Dubai, it wasn’t easy getting him out of a field in December to have him ready for a fast-ground race in Dubai that looked like a Group One three months later,” he added ahead of a race that forms part of the Qipco British Champions Series.

“He ran well, but the Godolphin team knew what they were up to and we weren’t going to get an easy ride. My concern is that I might have left my year behind in Dubai, but I’ve been perfectly happy with him at home.

“Tom Marquand couldn’t commit himself, so I made the decision to go for Oisin at the weekend.

“Oisin knows Quickthorn well and rode him in Dubai, as well as when he won twice two years ago, including at Royal Ascot.”

Broome flashed home to win the Dubai Gold Cup for trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore, beating Godolphin’s reopposing Siskany, who was favourite for the principal staying race on World Cup night.

Siskany was successful at the 2022 Dubai Carnival and third in the Group One Grosser Preis von Bayern in Germany at the end of the season.

The Charlie Appleby-trained five-year-old easily won the Group Three Nad Al Sheba Trophy in February before being nabbed close home by Broome last time.

“Siskany put up a couple of decent performances at Meydan over the winter,” Appleby told www.godolphin.com.

“We felt that the two miles of the Dubai Gold Cup was right at his limit and dropping back to a mile and six furlongs will help. He brings a nice profile into the race and conditions look there to suit, so we are expecting a big run.

Giavellotto, who was promoted to third in the St Leger after being badly hampered two furlongs out, has a bit to find with Broome and Siskany after subsequently finishing ninth in Meydan.

Trainer Marco Botti said: “I felt he was a bit unlucky in the St Leger. He’s a horse with a big stride and he was checked twice. For me he’d have been much closer otherwise.

“His preparation has gone well since Dubai, where things didn’t really pan out for him from a really wide draw and he ended up a bit too far back. It looks quite a competitive race but he stays well and he’s in good form. He’s in good shape and I’m pleased to see that the ground is drying out as I didn’t want to run him on really soft ground.

“He’s not in the Gold Cup, as that trip might stretch him and we don’t see it as the right race for him, but he has plenty of options.”

Last season’s Yorkshire Cup third Tashkhan is the only runner from a year ago to appear again, while Get Shirty completes the line-up.