PLANS FOR MARK Johnston’s Colt Awzaan are still uncertain after he returned to action at Haydock last Saturday.

Awzaan was a juvenile Group One winner but has been out of action for four months following a seasonal reappearance in the 2000 Guineas.

His third place in Listed company offered some encouragement and Angus Gold, racing manager for owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, hopes he can find a suitable opportunity in the coming weeks.

“We were happy enough and it was a good start back for him,” said Gold. “Tadhg (O’Shea) felt he didn’t quite stay the trip but he did need the run, so we’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt on that score. Mark feels he’s come out of it in one piece so we’ll keep going and try to find something for him over seven furlongs or a mile.

He went on: “I think the Cumberland Lodge at Ascot is his next target. He’s been a star for us and I think he’s won six races for us now. Not many of them do that. He seems to be still improving, so we’re delighted with him.”

“He’s had a long lay-off. Obviously he ran no sort of race in the Guineas,” Gold told PA before the race on Saturday. “It’s a learning curve. I know it’s a bit late in the year for that, but that was nobody’s fault. We’ll just see what happens and it will tell us where we go from here.”