Charlie Appleby is relishing a crack at the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Adayar with the Epsom Derby hero set to take on his elders for the first time.

Adayar provided Appleby with his second victory in the Epsom showpiece – as well as a first win for jockey Adam Kirby – and the Frankel colt will sidestep the Irish Derby at the Curragh in favour of next month’s Ascot showpiece.

Appleby feels that the King George, on July 24, comes at the perfect time for his latest stable star and he expects his next performance to help determine which route he takes for the remainder of the campaign.

“He has come out of the race great. As you saw he went on the seawalker yesterday morning and he has been out for a jog this morning and has been turned out in the paddock and he has shown his wellness. All signs are good so far,” Appleby said.

“Without rubber stamping anything the discussions that are taking place are that we will give this horse a bit more time and look towards going to a King George with him.

“I think timing-wise it suits him and also we will have tested our mettle a bit against the older horses. After that we can see what he is like against the older horses there and if he happens to win a King George we can work back from an Arc.

“If he gets beat in a King George then we revert back to our original plan which was going down the St Leger route. I would rather pinpoint one as we all know in the autumn it is a big ask to do a St Leger then an Arc.”

Meanwhile, dual Cheltenham Festival winner Samcro (11/4 favourite) was unable to back up his recent return to form when trailing home seventh behind Joseph O’Brien’s easy winner Darasso in the John J Galvin Chase at Listowel yesterday.

The enigmatic nine-year-old was struggling from a long way out and never landed a blow under Barry Browne with doubts now cast about whether Denise Foster’s charge will tackle the Galway Plate after yet another abject display.

Elsewhere, today brings the Connacht National (4.45) at Roscommon where professional jumps jockeys will be nowhere to be seen as they embark on a three-week break with races restricted to conditionals and riders who have not ridden more than 15 winners in the previous 12 months.

Top-weight Rapid Response could prove a tough nut to crack under Cian Cullinan having edged out the classy Scarlet And Dove in a lucrative mares chase at the Punchestown Festival and Jessica Harrington’s seven-year-old is proven over this trip so she will take some stopping.