Strong Suit swerve Deauville

Strong Suit has been declared a non-runner in Sunday's Prix Maurice de Gheest due to deteriorating ground conditions at Deauville.

After finishing well down the field behind Frankel in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on his return to action, champion trainer Richard Hannon decided to return his charge to sprint distances.

The four-year-old failed to get competitive in a July Cup run on heavy ground at Newmarket and with testing ground forecast again for this weekend's Group One heat, connections have decided against making the trip to France.

Assistant trainer Richard Hannon junior said: "We've decided not to run as the ground has gone too soft for him. They've had quite a lot of rain there all week and unfortunately conditions have gone against us.

"It's frustrating but the ground will come right for him at some stage. He can run over anything between six furlongs and a mile, so there are plenty of options for him and we'll go wherever the ground is right."