Trainer George Scott has explained the thinking behind Bay City Roller heading for France and a battle with Arc winner Daryz this weekend.
The four-year-old Bay City Roller opened his Group 1 account in Germany last November and gave connections a day to remember when running out a 10-length winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom earlier this year.
He's been on the back-burner since that soft-ground defeat of Jan Brueghel and while a potential clash with Constitution Hill in Saturday's September Stakes at Kempton hasn't materialised, the Prix Foy at Longchamp on Sunday has been identified as the best option for Bay City Roller.
Speaking on Thursday's Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Scott explained the thinking behind taking his stable star to France where he'll face current Arc title-holder Daryz.
He said: "We weighed up both options, the Foy had always been our first option. I have to say, we were aiming for that race even before he'd run this season - as a prep run for the Arc.
"Then, obviously, with this dry summer which has maintained through to the early-autumn, we were a little bit concerned about the ground and then the September Stakes came onto the radar.
"But having spoken to Shaikh Nasser (for owners Victorious Forever) and Billy Jackson-Stop (Racing Manager), we feel the best preparation for our horse for the Arc is the race on Sunday in Paris. The horse loves travelling, he loves to get on the box, he's proven at the track and four weeks for the Arc, we thought it was the better preparation.
"Last year, he benefitted from a break at a similar sort of time and it was always my intention to miss the summer, really. He's pretty ready, I'm not going to lie. He's probably more fit than he's ever been coming off a break. We took him to Kempton, his metrics were excellent and he recovered very well. Oisin (Murphy) was very pleased with him and he's not going to be done for fitness on Sunday."
As for what comes next, Bay City Roller has plenty of top-level options including a possible trip to America and the Breeders' Cup which this year is to be held at Keeneland.
"He's got a lovely programme now through the autumn; this race on Sunday, then the Arc," Scott said. "We'd love really to either go to Champions Day or end up at the Breeders' Cup, so we were conscious we wanted a fresh horse for the autumn.
"He is a real man of a horse; he's a big, strong horse and he's everything you can imagine in a cheeky colt. He's a real character. Once you've got him he's like a lamb but he's like a dog with a ball and won't let you catch him. When you've got him he'll let you do what you want, but he's a handful in a kind-spirited way.
"He's a good fun horse to be around!"
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