Although he ran another admirable race in defeat, I was a little bit disappointed with Cast No Shadow at Newcastle on Friday night.

He didn’t run badly, but I thought it was a race he could certainly win, and to be beaten by a horse that we’d already beaten was frustrating. It was probably a better race than the one we contested there last time, but I did feel he’d improved since then, so I really thought he went there with a solid chance.

The original plan was to geld him and give him a break now, but I’d really love to win a race with him before we do that, so I think we will keep going and try and get that win as a two-year-old. He’s come out of the race absolutely fine, and we have three weeks left until he turns three, so we’ll have a look at the programme and see what suitable opportunities there are for him.

Ross Coakley who rode him on Friday felt he was ready for a step up to 6f, and the way he shaped would definitely suggest that is the case. So we’ll have a look for races over that sort of trip for him, and hopefully that will spark that bit of improvement that will see him get his head in front.

Hugo Palmer, Coral Racing Club Trainer