Overdose misses York's Nunthorpe Stakes

Star Hungarian sprinter Overdose has been ruled out of his intended mid-season target of the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York's Ebor Festival fixture after suffering a setback in training.

The rags-to-riches speedster had been as short as 10/1 in the York Ebor betting for the five-furlong contest, (one of the most prestigious sprint contests in Europe), following a tremendous effort at Royal Ascot in June when he confounded his many critics by running a cracker to finish a close fourth to Prohibit in the Group 1 King's Stand Stakes. Showing blistering speed from the starting stalls, the gelded son of Starborough took the field along until headed a furlong from home, but instead of fading under pressure he kept on bravely to be beaten just over a length in a blanket finish.

Trained by Jozef Roszival in Hungary, the gelding who cost just £3000 as a yearling ran up a stunning sequence of victories building up a massive following as he rattled wins in all of his first 14 races throughout central and western Europe, including blitzing his top class rivals to land the 2008 Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe by three lengths, only to have the victory voided as one of the starting stalls opened fractionally late.

After suffering his first defeat in Group 2 company in Germany last year on a day where he was very fractious and uncharacteristically gave a lot of trouble at the stalls, many observers assumed the Overdose bubble had burst, a view that was compounded by his poor effort in the group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock in May. His York Ebor betting odds reflected this.

His Ascot run however showed that Overdose is still capable of smart form and assuming he recovers from the setback that has ruled him out of the 'Nunthorpe' he remains a candidate for honours in the 'Abbaye' at Longchamp in early October.