Bay City Roller handed possible Eugene Adam date

Bay City Roller is likely to head to France for the Prix Eugene Adam after his second place in the Heron Stakes at Sandown.

The George Scott-trained three-year-old surrendered his unbeaten record at the Esher track when carrying a 5lb penalty for his Champagne Stakes victory and was caught out for pace over a mile by Charlie Appleby’s 5-4 favourite Opera Ballo.

Billy Jackson-Stops, racing manager for owners Victorious Racing, is keen to see the New Bay colt step up to a mile and a quarter with Saint-Cloud the target later this month.

Jackson-Stops said: “We kind of knew we were going to get done for gas over a mile with the way we’ve been working this year.

“We’ve been working very well, showing that he was going to be a 10-furlong horse.

“We got stuck between a rock and a hard place. The French Derby was always going to come up quick.

“So we had to go to the Heron and carry a penalty and we thought he ran superbly. He ran through the line and we’ll step him up to 10 furlongs now.

“(We will) possibly have a look at the race in France called the Eugene Adam, a mile-and-a-quarter race at the end of the month and go from there step by step.”