Hear the full interview
From 21:38 in Wednesday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Bay City Roller heads to the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland next week with the Turf looking more open after John Gosden confirmed that Ombudsman will not make the trip to America.
Speaking to Nick Luck on Racing TV on Wednesday, Gosden said the Champion Stakes winner would skip the Breeders’ Cup, with the Japan Cup a potential target for the final start of his career.
That leaves George Scott’s Coronation Cup winner, third behind Ombudsman at Ascot on Saturday, among the leading European contenders for the Turf. Speaking on Wednesday’s Nick Luck Daily, before Ombudsman’s plans were confirmed, Scott said his runner had come out of the race really well, and that the Kentucky trip had always been on the agenda.
“Ombudsman is a champion, and I thought he was really the best version of himself at Ascot on Saturday,” Scott said. “But fundamentally, it was always the plan for us to go to the Breeders’ Cup. We knew it was coming down the road at us, and you can only train your own horse.
“Having spoken to Sheikh Nasser and Billy [Jackson-Stops], and monitored the horse over the last few days, we decided to take our chance.”
“The mile and a half is very much back in our lane. He stays very well.”
George Scott, trainer
The return to a mile and a half is central to Scott’s thinking. Bay City Roller won the Coronation Cup by ten lengths at Epsom in June, and was runner-up to Daryz in the Arc.
“He’s almost at his strongest late on in those mile-and-a-half races,” Scott said. “It’s a totally different set of circumstances to Ascot.”
Scott was quick to point out the variables, though: a full field, the journey for the European runners, and the need for a good draw on what he called a relatively tight track. “There are plenty of variables to chuck into the mix when comparing two horses,” he said.
Oisin Murphy, who rode Bay City Roller at Ascot, keeps the ride. “I had a nice chat with Oisin on the way back from Yarmouth last night,” Scott said. Murphy felt the Keeneland circuit would pose no problem. “He’s been around Chester and other such tracks with no issue whatsoever. He’s a very well-balanced horse.”
The ground is the remaining question. Scott has also spoken to Frankie Dettori and others about conditions. After well-documented rain in Kentucky, the forecast is dry through to the meeting, but Scott expects only a limited amount of drying.
“It’s autumn in Kentucky: very cold, wet nights, dewy nights, and only a certain amount of dry back,” he said. “Talking to the guys that know a lot better than me, it sounds like it’s really only going to be on the quick side of good at its fastest.”
