Atzeni back on Expert Eye after impressive work secures place in Classic line-up

An impressive piece of work on Sunday has convinced connections to let last year's Vintage Stakes winner Expert Eyetake his chance in Saturday's Qipco 2,000 Guineas, with Andrea Atzeni stepping back in for the unavailable Ryan Moore, who is riding Mendelssohn in the Kentucky Derby.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Expert Eye was beaten three-quarters of a length into second by James Garfield in the Greenham Stakes and Khalid Abdullah's racing manager Lord Grimthorpe said about the general 12-1 chance: "He worked on Sunday and after that we decided to leave him in.

"We'll have to look at the going – he wouldn't want it soft or worse, so it's just a question of how much rain they get. Tuesday looks the crucial day.

"He obviously needs to improve a great deal on what he showed at Newbury, but he's working well and giving us the right signs. Andrea will ride him."

Just 17 remain in contention for the season's first Classic, with Aidan O'Brien's Gustav Klimt the 11-4 favourite ahead of Craven winner Masar (5-1). Gustav Klimt's stablemate Saxon Warrior and Mark Johnston's Elarqam are both 6-1.

With the late emergence of Without Parole as a Classic contender, George Scott could be left looking for a new jockey for James Garfield as regular partner Frankie Dettori is likely to be required by boss John Gosden.

Oisin Murphy, the only other jockey to have won on James Garfield, could be required by Qatar Racing for either Roaring Lion – more likely to wait for the Dante, according to trainer John Gosden – or Raid, leaving Scott considering his options.

Harry Herbert, racing manager to 25-1 shot Headway's owners, The Royal Ascot Racing Club, said: "Headway will take his place on Saturday so long as the ground is okay for him. He's working very well – William [Haggas] is very pleased with him.

"He was really good at Lingfield and the time splits were terrific. He hasn't grown a lot, but he's so much stronger this year, with much more muscle definition.

"He's a very willing sort of horse, which is why we decided not to run him in the Greenham. He gives everything in his races and William wanted to keep him as fresh as possible for the Guineas. The ground wouldn't have been right for him anyway."

The ground at Newmarket was good to soft, good in places on Monday. Clerk of the course Michael Prosser said: "We haven't had the quantity of rainfall that we were anticipating by any stretch of the imagination and we'll probably end up with about half an inch, rather than the top end of the spectrum.

"The rain started later than expected and we'd had about 4mm by mid-afternoon, which was significantly less than we expected.

"It's forecast to rain on and off until about midnight and could total between 10mm and 12mm.

"Tuesday now looks set to be dry and the front coming through on Wednesday shouldn't deliver more than about a quarter of an inch. That clears away overnight and then it looks dry through to end of play on Saturday, with temperatures rising potentially to 19C or 20C.

"It's due to be slightly warmer again on Sunday, but there's a possibility of an isolated shower in the afternoon."

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