Stoute looking forward to the Dewhurst Sir Michael Stoute is confident Expert Eye has fully recovered from the issue that forced him to miss a trip to Ireland last month ahead of his appearance in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes on Saturday. The Khalid Abdullah-owned Acclamation colt heads to Newmarket as a red-hot favourite with a towering reputation after he won the Group Two Vintage Stakes at Goodwood by four and a half lengths. Expert Eye had been in contention to run in the National Stakes at the Curragh in September, but he suffered a setback and will instead step into top-class company in the Dewhurst. Stoute said: "He seems in good shape. I contemplated going to the Curragh but he had a bit of an issue when we scoped him. "That knocked that out of the way so we trained him for the Dewhurst. "We've had plenty of time to prepare him for this and there are no excuses on that front." Stoute believes the youngster is one of the most "naturally precocious" juveniles he has trained for quite some time. The Freemason Lodge-based trainer claimed his only Dewhurst triumph with Ajdal in 1986, but Expert Eye is an odds-on shot for this season's renewal and is already ante-post favourite for the 2000 Guineas next year. "We've had precocious two-year-olds, but we don't seem to get them nowadays," the trainer added. "This fellow just came along and was naturally precocious. "Before he ran we knew he was pretty smart as he was showing plenty of speed. "He's a good-looking horse and is very athletic, but he's better looking now that he's won a Group race - and that's a fact of life! "As a trainer, I'm entitled to run him in it (Dewhurst) and train him for it." Expert Eye was put through his paces at a media event on Tuesday morning when he cantered behind a stablemate on the Al Bahathri Polytrack gallop in Newmarket. Just as he had been at Goodwood, Stoute's two-year-old will be ridden in the Dewhurst by Andrea Atzeni.
