Gold Standard, the forgotten man of this season’s three-year-old crop, is now back in training with next January’s Queen’s Plate and Sun Met obvious targets.

Glen Kotzen had the Vodacom Durban July on his shopping list after the colt finished a half-length second to William Longsword in the Cape Guineas and fourth to Whisky Baron in the Met, but he was forced to reconsider.

He said yesterday: “We found Gold Standard had a small segment on each fetlock and, while he was never unsound, we decided to clean them up and set him up for next season rather than take him to Durban. He is now back in work and doing great.”

Gold Standard is rated a long way in front of the three-year-olds who went close in the July. The handicappers have him on a mark of 115 compared with the 107 of Al Sahem and Edict Of Nantes.

Kotzen, though, reckons to give South Side only one more run even though the Pathfork three-year-old made it four wins from her last five starts when running the opposition ragged in the 1 000m conditions plate at Kenilworth last Saturday.

He explained: “She is not the soundest of fillies and she doesn’t take her runs that well so it’s more than likely that she will be retired to stud at the end of the season.”

He bought her for only R10 000 at the Bloodstock SA Suncoast KZN Yearling Sale -”She was a beautiful filly and very athletic but she had bad legs and bad knees.”

By Michael Clower