Sylvester Kirk is hopeful Salouen can take an extra step and win the Investec Coronation Cup at Epsom after finishing second last year.
The Hungerford-based trainer watched his five-year-old stable star push Cracksman all the way 12 months ago before settling for the runner-up spot.
Salouen has since featured in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Grand Prix de Deauville and was sixth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, only four lengths behind the winner Enable.
His first start of the season resulted in a win at Ascot on May 11 and Kirk has high hopes of success in Friday’s race. He said: “Everything has been going to plan and he’s in good form. “It was nice for him to get a win under his belt at Ascot – it had been a while – all we could do with now is a bit of rain.
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As it’s the Friday, at least it should be good ground. “There is rain forecast but I’m not expecting much, it’s pretty sporadic, but it would be nice to get a few showers on Wednesday and Thursday. “There’s no Cracksman this year, but there’s a lot of good horses and with a few (Aidan) O’Brien horses, you’d imagine he won’t get an easy lead – it could get quite tactical.”
