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Following last week's very successful Glorious Goodwood meeting, attention now turns to the beautiful West Sussex course's three days of racing over August Bank Holiday Weekend.
Premio Loco is among 27 horses going forward, details of which are released today, for the feature £100,000 Betfair Celebration Mile on Saturday, August 24, 2013, the middle day of three at Goodwood.
Chris Wall's stalwart and talented nine-year-old, owned by Bernard Westley, denied Thistle Bird and Aljamaaheer in a thrilling finish to last year's renewal and heads into this year's contest on the back of similarly gutsy success in a mile conditions event at Newmarket on August 3.
Premio Loco failed to fire in the Group Two Summer Mile at Ascot on July 13, but proved he could still be competitive at major meetings when a close second under top-weight in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot in June.
Wall, who trains in Newmarket, revealed: "The Betfair Celebration Mile is a possibility for Premio Loco. He also has an entry in the Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury on Thursday week, but I know the owner is very keen to have a go at the Celebration Mile because he won it last year.
"Premio Loco has come out of Newmarket fine and that has set him up well for wherever he goes next. He has had a bit of an up and down season, but hopefully he can get back to being the consistent horse he has often been in the past.
"He seemed to enjoy making the running at Newmarket and he made the running when he won the Celebration Mile last year. As he has got older, he has probably lost his turn of foot so, if he doesn't make the running, he needs to be in a position where he is striding all the time and not being held up for a turn of foot.
"I don't know what went wrong in the Summer Mile at Ascot. He got very warm down at the start - he was absolutely white with sweat - and that's not like him. He can sometimes get a bit warm in the preliminaries but not to that degree so we don't know what that was. We took some tests afterwards but he was perfectly healthy.
"Whatever happened, he didn't perform on the day and that's why it was good to see him bounce back with a solid performance at Newmarket the other day.
"The horse he beat (Sovereign Debt) has also had a bit of an up and down season but he was second in the Lockinge and we had to give him 7lb so that's solid form. The old boy may have lost his turn of foot but in terms of his overall ability and what he is capable of running to, I don't think it is far short of what it always has been.
"Unless something sexy turns up, he is always going to be competitive in these races and he certainly hasn't lost his appetite for it."
Last year's Betfair Celebration Mile form was given a boost at Glorious Goodwood last week in the Group One Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes (August 3) when Thistle Bird finished a neck second to Winsili.
Ireland's champion trainer Aidan O'Brien has four possible contenders going forward for the 2013 Betfair Celebration Mile, headed by US import Darwin, who made it two from two in Europe with an impressive victory in the Group Three Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh on July 20, and last year's St James's Palace Stakes hero Most Improved. QIPCO 2000 Guineas fifth Cristoforo Columbo and Jersey Stakes winner Gale Force Ten are the other two.
Newmarket trainer David Simcock has two exciting chances in the shape of recent QIPCO Sussex Stakes fourth Trade Storm and multiple Group Two scorer Caspar Netscher, who made a promising return after a 317-day lay-off in the Group Two bet365 Lennox Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on July 30, finishing second.
Godolphin has five entries spread across two trainers including Group One winner Aesop's Fables and Tawhid, runner-up over the course and distance in the Group Three Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Marco Botti has left in improving Summer Mile third Guest Of Honour, while fellow Italian and Newmarket trainer Luca Cumani could be represented by Group One runner-up Afsare.
Other notable confirmations include Group Two scorer Shamalgan, trained in France by Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte, and Group One Prix de la Foret scorer Gordon Lord Byron from the stable of Irish handler Tom Hogan.
Classy pair among Betfair Cash Out Heritage Handicap 49
Wentworth and Cape Peron, first and second in the Betfred Mile at Glorious Goodwood on August 2, headline the 49 remaining entries for the £100,000 Betfair Cash Out Heritage Handicap on Saturday, August 24.
The highly-regarded three-year-olds, trained by Richard Hannon and Henry Candy respectively, could renew rivalry with Cash Out Multiples Only On Betfair Handicap scorer Galician and Bunbury Cup victor Field Of Dream.
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