SNOW SKY HEADS FOR MELBOURNE

SNOW SKY booked his ticket for the Melbourne Cup in November as the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt repelled Michael Owen’s Brown Panther to land the Betway Yorkshire Cup by half a length. The 5-2 winner was always holding off 13-8 favourite Brown Panther with jockey Ryan Moore nursing him home until asking his mount to stretch out in the last 50 yards. Stoute (right) will now plot a path to Australia but hee has ruled out a rematch with h Brown Panther in the Ascot Gold Cup next month. The trainer said: ‘I’d like to finish up in Melbourne, I think it would be worth throwing a dart.’ Burdened with a 5lb penalty after winning lastst year’s Irish Leger, Brown Panther, winner of the Dubai Gold Cup in March, went down fighting. His team must now work out a strategy for the Gold Cup, which is six furlongs longer, after he seemed to run out of stamina when fourth past the post behind Leading Light last season. Trainer Tom Dascombe said: ‘We wanted him to relax today. We are disappointed he didn’t win but it is all about trying to win the Ascot Gold Cup. ‘Last year we rode him (in the Gold Cup) like a guaranteed stayer. This time we will ride him to put his head on the line at the end.’ Stoute has ruled all his Investec Derby entries out of the race on JuneJ 6 but, in the aftermathaft of Thursday’s DanteDa Stakes victory for GoldenGo Horn, Dermot Weld-trainedW Zawrak will go straight to Epsom. TheTh colt, owned by HamdanHam Al Maktoum, had been expected to run in the Irish 2,02,000 Guineas at the Curragh a week today. Angus Gold, the owner’s racing manager, said: ‘We don’t know if he’s going to stay, but the race still looks open at the moment so we’d love to give it a go anyway.’ It looks likely that Success Days, winner of the Derrinstown Derby trial at Leopardstown, will be supplemented to the Classic.