Eclipse or France next for Coronation hero Roller The Coral-Eclipse and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud are among the options under consideration for Bay City Roller, with the Coronation Cup winner reported to be “bucking and kicking” following his Epsom heroics. A Group One winner in Germany last season, George Scott’s charge kicked off the new campaign by finishing second to Lambourn in Chester’s Huxley Stakes before also filling the runner-up spot behind Almaqam in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Stepped back up to a mile and a half on Derby day, Bay City Roller ran out an emphatic 10-length winner of what looked a deep edition of the Coronation Cup and having taken those exertions in his stride, connections are now planning another outing in a fortnight’s time. “He’s in absolutely cracking order. George jokingly called me the other day saying ‘can we find a race for him’ as five days after Epsom he was bucking and kicking again on the gallops,” said Billy Jackson-Stops, racing manager to owners Victorious Forever. “He’s got the constitution of a lion this horse and we’re looking forward forward to Eclipse weekend (July 4 and 5) when we’ve got the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud or the Eclipse as potential options. “He’ll handle good ground or slightly quicker than good as he did in Ireland, but we wouldn’t run him on good to firm, so it’s slightly weather dependent.” The Bay City Roller team would have no concerns about dropping Bay City Roller back to a mile and a quarter for the Eclipse should conditions at Sandown prove suitable. He added: “He ran a massive race in Ireland and he’s very amenable. He can turn up for his races and quicken up in his races over a mile and a half or a mile and a quarter, so it’s just a case of when the right races come up in the right conditions we’ll run him. “He’s just a different animal. He’s had three runs in a month and is getting happier in himself with each run. He just loves the graft, loves getting out and loves the fight. “All roads lead to the Arc, that is the one race you can guarantee we will be at.” Scott similarly sees Europe’s premier middle-distance contest in early October as the primary goal. “He has come out of Epsom all well and is a dream horse to train,” said the Newmarket handler. “We will keep the Eclipse open in case there is a wet weekend in the build-up, otherwise it looks like we could head for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on our way to the King George if the weather was favourable. “But really everything leads to the Arc and a prep run for the Arc in the autumn. It great to be talking about these sorts of races, unbelievable really, but I think the Arc is his race.”
