Racing: Xaar rerouted to Newmarket

XAAR, hot favourite for the 2,000 Guineas, will now make his reappearance in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket tomorrow week. The colt had been due to make his seasonal bow in the Prix Djebel at Maisons-Laffitte tomorrow but has been rerouted because of the heavy ground at the Paris track.

"The course was inspected by Andre Fabre's representative and deemed very unsuitable," Grant Pritchard-Gordon, racing manager to Xaar's owner, Khalid Abdullah, said.

Xaar will not be entered for the Derby at today's pounds 8,000 supplementary stage. There is a final supplementary stage on 30 May when Abdullah would have to pay pounds 75,000 to enter.