3 minute read

Trainer George Scott unveiled another exciting juvenile in the form of Group 2 Champagne Stakes victor Bay City Roller at Doncaster on Saturday.

It has been a rollercoaster season for Newmarket-based trainer George Scott , who appeared to have a Group 1 performer on his hands when stable star Isle Of Jura landed the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, beating subsequent Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes hero Goliath in second. With Isle Of Jura sidelined for the remainder of the campaign with a minor injury, Scott needed another classy individual to head his growing ranks and looked to the unbeaten Bay City Roller to take the step up to Group level.

Running in the same colours as Isle Of Jura, Bay City Roller justified favouritism on debut in a seven-furlong Sandown maiden before demonstrating the same professional attitude to win a Chelmsford novice event in late August. It was a tough ask for the son of New Bay to defeat a strong field of improving colts, but he stepped up to the challenge in admirable fashion.

Settled in third by jockey Callum Shepherd, Bay City Roller was always travelling well and hit the front with a furlong to run, repelling the late challenge of Aidan O'Brien's Monumental to land the spoils by half-a-length. The second O'Brien runner, Aftermath, kept on dourly to finish a further two-and-a-half lengths back in third.

In an interview with ITV Racing, Shepherd said: "He's a really lovely horse.

"What he has in abundance is a really lovely attitude. He really wants to win. Our assignment was made much easier [with the late withdrawal of favourite Chancellor] but this horse does everything right, he keeps improving.

"It was a strange enough race, for a small field, they were quite strung out and I was left to my own devices from the two (furlong marker) but as soon as he became aware of a challenge, he really knuckled down and wanted to win."