Ivory to snub Breeders’ Cup

Dean Ivory is set to snub a Breeders’ Cup spot for Tropics and keep him at home before an assault in December’s Hong Kong Sprint.

The talented seven-year-old was being lined up for the trip to the United States for the Breeders’ Cup race in Lexington, Kentucky at the end of October.

But Ivory feels he would benefit more from racing domestically, at next month’s Sprint Cup at Haydock and the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot in October, before jetting out to Hong Kong at the end of the year.

He said: “He has been invited to the Breeders’ Cup, but it would be tough over there. They’ve got probably the best sprinters they’ve had for over 20 years.

“He’ll probably stay here and go to Haydock, then to Champions Day and Hong King maybe. We’ll see how we go.

“The thing is in America it’s a great purse, but Ascot’s Champions Sprint is worth a lot of money and I think I’d rather go for those two Group races over here than one abroad.”