Gordon Lord Byron could make a swift return to action at York next week after having avoided serious injury in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh.

The multiple Group 1 winner has been running consistently well this season, bagging a Group 2 success along the way in the Greenlands Stakes in May.

The penalty the nine-year-old incurred for that victory meant he had to concede weight all round in his latest Group 3 assignment on Sunday, but he went down fighting once more, finishing a close third despite suffering superficial injuries.

Trainer Tom Hogan said: " He got struck into twice and ripped skin off both sides of his leg, but other than that he's fine.

"It's a miracle he got hit twice and didn't do any more damage.

"He ran another good race. It's tough giving weight away to group horses, so we might try and give weight away to handicappers in the Ayr Gold Cup. That's on September 23rd and I've give him an entry.

"He could go to York on August 25th for the City of York Stakes, which he won five years ago. Then there's the Boomerang Stakes in Leopardstown (September 9th). "It's possible he could do all three."