Trip to Paris Gold Cup defence in balance

Graham Lee rides Trip to Paris to victory in the Gold Cup last summer. Image copyright of Racingfotos.com

Trip To Paris, one of the leading lights in the Long Distance category of the QIPCO British Champions Series last year, will return to training with Ed Dunlop in May but may have to miss the entire campaign.

The five-year-old gave the syndicate who own him a memorable time in 2015, when highlights included victory in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and a close fourth in the Emirates Melbourne Cup.

However, he suffered a tendon injury when contesting the Japan Cup in late November and has since stayed overseas to receive specialist treatment.

“We sent him to a tendon expert in Australia and the reports are very good," Dunlop said. "He will return to me, I believe, at the beginning of May ready to start again. “If we can get him back on track there’s the Gold Cup, but we’ll see what condition he comes back in. We have to be realistic, he had a serious injury – injuries like that usually need a year off.”