Wimbledon Hawkeye appears set to swerve an outing in the Betfred Derby next month in favour of an appearance in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Connections believe the Group Two test at the Royal meeting is a better fit for the son of Kameko, who is a general 33/1 chance for the Epsom Downs showpiece.

The Gredley Family-owned colt is yet to win any of his three starts this season having finished second in the Craven, fifth in the 2000 Guineas and third in the Dante.

And with that in mind a trip to the Royal meeting is seen as a better chance of him scoring for the first time since claiming Group Two glory in last year’s Royal Lodge at Newmarket in September.

Tim Gredley, speaking on behalf of the owners, said: “I think we are going to swerve the Derby and go to the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot as it fits better.

“He could go to the Derby and run really well and finish third or fourth, but at Royal Ascot we think he has got a good chance of winning and that’s how we are looking at it.

“At the end of the day we would like to try and make him into a little stallion and we need to be winning Group races. He is in good order and he has come out of his last race sound.

“We want to try and have as many runners as possible at Royal Ascot with horses that are going to be competitive, plus this gives him a bit more time.

“It is a tough call to swerve Epsom as we would love to have a runner in the Derby, but Royal Ascot is not a bad substitute.”

An outing in the King Edward VII will also see Wimbledon Hawkeye race over a mile and a half for the first time in his career.

However, Gredley is optimistic he will have no problems in seeing out the new trip in the £250,000 contest on June 20th.

He added: “I think he ran a really good race over the extended mile and a quarter in the Dante and he was beaten by some really classy unexposed horses.

“It will be interesting going over a mile and a half with him. I’d like to think he will stay as his mother (Eva Maria) is by Sea The Stars, but until you try it you don’t really know.

“He has got a great brain and when they have that it gives them a really strong chance of seeing it out.”

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