Molecomb Third For Rouleau

Rouleau acquitted himself well on his Pattern debut with a good third in the Group Three Fairmont Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood, UK, on Wednesday, July 29.

The Charlie Appleby-trained two-year-old, dropping down to five furlongs following two wins over a furlong further, was pushed along by William Buick leaving the stalls and disputed the early running down the stands' rail.

The Exceed And Excel colt was still at the head of the 10 runners passing the two-furlong pole and rallied gamely despite drifting right over a furlong from home.

Rouleau could not match the pace of Kachy, who won in 58.55s on good ground, and King Of Rooks in the closing stages but kept on to go down by two and three quarter lengths in total.

Charlie Appleby said: "I was very pleased with Rouleau's performance. We knew that dropping to five furlongs was slightly out of his comfort zone but William was very complimentary about him.

"He said to put Rouleau on a flat track with quick ground over six furlongs and he will be competitive at a higher level.

"We will take the positives out of this run and go for something like the Gimcrack (Group Two, York, six furlongs, August 22)."

William Buick remarked: "He has run very well - he is really a six-furlong horse but he showed up over a furlong shorter and finished behind two smart types.

"He will be more comfortable going back to six furlongs."