George Scott is looking forward to taking the wraps off Bay City Roller in the Star Sports Heron Stakes at Sandown on Thursday.
The prolonged dry spell has meant connections have been forced to sit on their hands with the unbeaten son of New Bay so far this year. The Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the weekend was one potential target for the Champagne Stakes winner, but his trainer is happy they swerved such a test on his return to action.
Speaking on Wednesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Scott said: “We’re very pleased with Bay City Roller. He's a horse who kind of had aspirations to get started a bit earlier in the year but we've had this unusually dry late winter and spring and as a result we've missed intended targets.
"We find ourselves here, but he's been ready to go for a little while, he’s been away a couple of times and I’m very, very pleased with the condition he's in going into tomorrow night.
"We feel his best conditions are with some give underfoot and although Ireland ended up being a little wetter on the day, we felt getting his season started in a Group One with conditions not being ideal was unwise at this stage in the year.
"We’re prepared to get him started on this type of ground in a Listed race. Sandown do a great job in keeping on top of the watering and with the uphill finish I think it’s a more sensible starting point than an Irish Guineas or French Derby where the ground was probably on the faster side for him.”
Scott went on record last year as saying Bay City Roller is potentially the best he's trained and he hasn’t changed his mind.
“I feel like he’s slightly different to anything else we’ve had through our hands before. He’s got a lovely pedigree; he’s got an amazing mind. I think he's got it all to prove in the eyes of a lot of people because of the margins by which he's won his races but that’s probably an asset of his.
“He sets his clock by the horse in front of him, gets past and almost feels he’s done enough. As they say you can only beat what’s in front of you and that’s what he’s done so far.
"I'm certainly not going to sit here and declare him as being a champion, but I’ve had a relatively short career, and this is a high-class horse. I’m very happy with him.”
Bay City Roller holds an entry in the St James’s Palace Stakes but his trainer is in no rush to commit to that being a target.
“I don’t think we can put him in the same breath as those horses at the moment and what I’ve been seeing from him is he’ll definitely get a mile-and-a-quarter form his work at home.
“We'd have been happy to be starting him over ten furlongs so whether the mile in Group One company is going to be just on the tight side for him, I don’t know. I need to see him on the track as a three-year-old before I start making long-term plans for him.
“We've seen through these trials, more so this year than ever, the change in these horses through their late two-year-old winters and three-year-old springs so I really want to just see him on the track before we make any firm plans."
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