£10 million offer for Cockney Rebel

£10 million offer for Cockney Rebel

Trainer Geoff Huffer has revealed that a bid of £10 million has been received

for COCKNEY REBEL (Val Royal [Fr]), but owner Phil Cunningham will not consider

any offers for the dual classic winner until after the June 19 St. James's

Palace S. (Eng-G1).

"We've had lots of offers, including a firm bid of £10 million for him, and

that's not a bad return on the 30,000 guineas he cost as a yearling," the

trainer commented. "Nobody's bought him at the moment and Phil Cunningham

doesn't want to do anything until after Royal Ascot. Cockney Rebel is worth that

now and if he wins the St James's Palace he'll be worth more -- he won't devalue.

He's a dual classic winner so he can stand at £15,000 to £20,000 at stud

whatever happens. His owner is a sporting man and money is not the main factor."

Looking ahead to the Royal meeting, Huffer is hopeful his stable star can

once again prevail in a rematch with Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) third

Dutch Art (Medicean).

"He's improving all the time and you haven't seen the best of him yet,"

Huffer said. "You can never be totally confident and he's got to run his race,

but Dutch Art has to catch us up. If he gets beat then he gets beat, but I find

it hard to think he will. He quickens off a good gallop and then quickens again,

very few horses do that."

Huffer also revealed Cockney Rebel will target the August 12 Prix Jacques le

Marois (Fr-G1) at Deauville and the September 29 Queen Elizabeth II S. (Eng-G1)

back at Ascot.