Christmas Day is looking more and more like needing soft ground so that it slows his rivals down enough for him – the quicker ground shows him as an ok 12F horse that will probably appreciate the St Leger trip and could end up being the next Coolmore horse to go down the Cup route next season.
Hopefully, Item goes Irish Champion/Champion Stakes and/or Arc next (obviously ground dependant) and I think he is definitely worth another go at 12F – if they miss the Arc maybe a Japan Cup (winning today qualifies him for the race and if he places in the first 3 an additional bonus is on offer up to $5m if he were to win). I am not sure a tight turning short straight US turf track will suit him as he appears to need a decently long straight.
Given he lost his unbeaten tag in the Derby there is no reason why he can’t stay in training as another year on his back will make him a much stronger version of himself where all the top 10-12F races would be targets (especially a King George during the summer if we get weather like we did this year).