The Tin Man has Nunthorpe option
Having been slightly disappointing at Royal Ascot in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, Fanshawe had his sprinter back to his best as he sauntered to victory at Newbury
TRAINER James Fanshawe will consider a tilt at the Nunthorpe Stakes with The Tin Man following his return to winning ways at Newbury on Saturday.
The son of Equiano progressed from handicaps to finish an excellent fourth in the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot last season and could hardly have been more impressive on his seasonal debut at Windsor in May.
He was a shade disappointing when well-fancied for the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot last month, but got back on track in Newbury's Hackwood Stakes.
While Fanshawe is in no rush to commit to future targets, he is not ruling out letting his star sprinter tackle five furlongs for the first time on the Knavesmire on August 19.
"He pulled out fine this morning and we'll just play it by ear as to what we do next. We'll see how the horse is in the next week or 10 days and go from there," said the Newmarket handler.
"He is in the race at York and he's also in the Phoenix Sprint at the Curragh (August 7). The races I really want to go for are the Sprint Cup at Haydock (September 3) and the Champions Sprint at Ascot (October 15), those are the races I'm targeting, so it's just a case of where we go in between.
"He's never run over five (furlongs), but he doesn't lack speed and Equiano was effective over five. I just think the way six-furlong races are run suits him."
