English/Ire
Scott expecting Bay City Roller to take step forward in Prix Eugene Adam
“I think he’s come forward for his run, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”
George Scott is expecting his talented three-year-old Bay City Roller to take a step forward for his reappearance effort as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of Headman and My Prospero and become the latest British-trained winner of the Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud on Sunday.Following a highly promising second behind Charlie Appleby's Opera Ballo, who was in receipt of 3lb, in the Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown in May, Bay City Roller will now take the step up to ten furlongs for the first time, with Scott relishing the prospect of stretching his colt out in trip.
"He's come out of the run at Sandown really well," said Scott. "He's the type of horse that is so uncomplicated. He enjoys his training and his racing, but I think he's come forward for his run, I don't think there's any doubt about that,"
"He won't give us any problems travelling. His mind is probably his best asset."
He added: "We feel that he's crying out now for that step up in trip. He's bred to go a bit further than what he's been running over, he showed plenty of speed at two but as he's got more mature, he seems to look more like a ten-furlong horse."
A half-length winner of the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster on his final outing as a juvenile, Bay City Roller would typically carry a penalty for that success in Britain. However, due to race conditions at Saint-Cloud this week, George Scott's son of New Bay will be free to race without one.
On the thinking behind running in the Prix Eugene Adam, Scott said: "With a horse like him, who doesn't want this really fast summer ground, you don't have a huge number of options.
"We never planned to go to Royal Ascot, and this just looked like a very obvious stepping stone for us once we'd managed to get his first run of the season out of the way.
"It's normally a small but select field, we'd hoped that we wouldn't get English summer fast ground in France and therefore, it was just a glaringly obvious next start for him."
Whilst locally-based riders would have surely been queuing up to pick up the ride on the classy three-year-old, Scott remains committed to first-string jockey Callum Shepherd, who has built up a good rapport with the horse and already enjoyed success in France this season having partnered the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Quddwaah to victory in the Prix de Montretout at Longchamp.
Scott said: "Callum has a good relationship with him. He's first jockey to us and will take the ride. He actually messaged me last night saying that he's an expert on the Prix Eugene Adam. He said he's watched every single one that he could find back, which is obviously what you want to hear from your rider!"
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