‘Excited’ Teddy Grimthorpe sees sense in running Logician as a four-year-old

St Leger winner overcomes serious infection as Enable targets the Arc de Triomphe

Frankie Dettori on Logician after victory in last year’s St Leger. Picture: Getty

Connections of Logician are hopeful the St Leger hero can make his mark as a four-year-old this season.

The John Gosden-trained colt stretched his unbeaten record to five at Doncaster in September, stylishly accounting for Sir Ron Priestley by two and a quarter lengths under Frankie Dettori.

The grey son of Frankel suffered a serious infection during the winter, but is reported to have made good progress.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Khalid Abdullah, said: “We’re very excited to run him as a four-year-old. It was Prince Khalid’s decision to keep him in training and it was an important one, because having won the St Leger everyone felt there was more to come from him.

“He had this stomach infection over the winter which set him back a bit as it was a serious infection, but he seems fine and is in light exercise. Whatever happens (with resumption of racing) his season would not have started very early anyway.

“We are extremely hopeful for him. Just where and what he might do, I think the way he won the St Leger we know he stays a mile and three-quarters and is pretty comfortable at a mile and a half – whether a bit shorter would be in his compass it’s hard to tell at this stage.

“In terms of races one would never know. He would have to show us he was in good enough form and of course the races would have to be available for him, so we may not have a wide choice. He has the potential to be an important horse. Whether he meets Enable or not will be up to Prince Khalid.”

Like Logician, the mighty Enable is also reported to be doing well, with all roads hopefully leading to another crack at an historic third victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.

Grimthorpe said: “It is incredibly difficult to get one horse to run in one race on a particular date in the year. Longchamp has been in Enable’s diary for the last three years and also this year.

“Everything will be geared towards that race for her and how that gets played. I don’t think, in terms of how John would train her, this (suspension of racing) is making a vast difference at the moment.

“She needs to be in the best possible shape come October, but how she gets there is very much in the lap of the gods. She is in very good form, she is cantering up Warren Hill most days, seems happy and has had no issues, so from that point of view we are very content.”

Grimthorpe also reported the Juddmonte team to be happy with the Roger Charlton-trained Quadrilateral, long-time favourite for the Qipco 1000 Guineas.

The fillies’ Classic is set to be run in early June this year, should a best-case scenario for the resumption of racing come together.

Grimthorpe said: “On the whole the 1000 and 2000 are the last two-year-old trials if you like, but she was good enough to win the Fillies’ Mile, so she isn’t that backwards. She is certainly a strong filly and from that point of view we were looking forward to the 1000 Guineas in May.

“Equally so with all fillies, especially with the summer and everything else, opportunities become fewer and fewer at times and I think to concertina her season it doesn’t necessarily work in her favour.

“The real question is where we might have gone had things gone well in the Guineas. Would she be a mile-and-a-half horse or a mile-and-a-quarter horse? Those things need to be answered earlier rather than later, because then you can plan the campaign.”