TRAINER Jean-Claude Rouget has abandoned plans for last year's European Horse of the Year Almanzor to make his long-awaited return in the Sky Bet Stakes at York later this month.

The Group 2 contest on 29th July had been seen as an ideal preparation for the Group 1 Juddmonte International on 23rd August, but after the four-year-old worked at Clairefontaine racecourse on Saturday, Rouget is now looking towards a comeback at Deauville on 15th August.