Racing Post.....
US date a possibility for Reverence (Yea!!!!!)
by David Lawrence
RACES in the US are being discussed byconnections of star sprinter Reverence now that veterinary tests have revealed the Eric Alston-trained six-year-old was not suffering from a virus when he bled in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York last week.
Reverence was examined by vets after coming homelast of 16 and, as no infection has come to light to explain the gelding's setback, Alston and owner Gary Middlebrook have to decide whether to race him again this year or put him away until next season.
Longchamp's Prix de l'Abbaye in October remains a possible target but, with that Group 1 only a month away, several later alternatives across the Atlantic are being considered for last year's Nunthorpe Stakes and Betfred Sprint Cup winner.
Alston said on Friday: "The vets have established there's no virus on Reverence, so now we've got to decide whether to put him away until next season, prepare him for the Prix de l'Abbaye or think about a race in America.
"In a way, we were hoping to discover some sort of infection, as that would have explained the bleeding, but there isn't any, so we'll have to put it down as a one-off, build him up again and hope there isn't a recurrence."
Alston added: "We've done all the tests we need to do now, so it's just a matter of making the decisionto rough him off or keep him going for another month or two.
"If we decide to aim for the Abbaye, we've got a month, and if we go to America, that gives us until November. We'll talk about it at the weekend and work from there but, in the end, the horse will be the one telling us what we really need to know."
Middlebrook said: "We haven't completely discounted the Abbaye, but I'd say it's unlikely, because it's not that far off and you wouldn't want to run a horse as good as Reverence too soon after having a problem.
"If he's okay to run again this season, and if we bypass the Abbaye, then there are five or six possible options for him in America, including a Grade 2 race on turf in November."