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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Tim Gredley, speaking on behalf of the owners, said: \u201cI think we are going to swerve the Derby and go to the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot as it fits better. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe 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\u2019s how we are looking at it. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
However, Gredley is optimistic he will have no problems in seeing out the new trip in the \u00a3250,000 contest on June 20th. <\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
“It will be interesting going over a mile and a half with him. I\u2019d like to think he will stay as his mother (Eva Maria) is by Sea The Stars, but until you try it you don\u2019t really know. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe has got a great brain and when they have that it gives them a really strong chance of seeing it out.\u201d <\/p>\n
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