'I’ve been desperate to run him' - George Scott hoping for bank holiday bonanza with three last-time-out juvenile winners

George Scott is gearing up for a big bank holiday weekend as two of his promising juveniles stake their claims for potential Group 2 assignments next month.

The Newmarket trainer sent out Watch My Tracer and Piz Nair to win both divisions of a 6f novice at Windsor last month, and Scott will be hoping the pair can strike on the same card again at Newmarket on Saturday.

Watch My Tracer is the 9-4 favourite for the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction Stakes (3.20), while Piz Nair is 7-2 in the opening 6f novice event (1.40) as he attempts to defy a penalty.

Watch My Tracer, who made a successful debut at Yarmouth in May before finishing seventh in the Coventry, was due to run in the Richmond Stakes at the start of the month. However, unsuitably soft ground forced Scott to take the son of Dandy Man out of the Glorious Goodwood Group 2, which went to subsequent Prix Morny winner Vandeek.

"At the time I was disappointed to take him out of the race at Goodwood but that form is very strong with Vandeek, and the second [Ballymount Boy] ran well in the Acomb,” said Scott. "He doesn’t want soft ground so it was an easy decision and as a result we come here with a fresh horse.

"Benoit [de la Sayette, jockey] has been in and sat on him a couple of times. He rode him at Windsor and he’s got a lot of confidence in him. He’s definitely improved physically since Ascot and I’ve been desperate to run him for a while."

Scott marked his first runners for a week with a winner at Hamilton on Friday and added: “He’s a horse who I think fits really well into this race. He’ll love the ground and we know the trip’s fine for him – everything’s in his favour.”

James Garfield: won the Mill Reef for George ScottCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Watch My Tracer is entered in next month’s Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury, the race in which Scott enjoyed the biggest success of his career in 2017 with James Garfield, the horse who also provided the trainer with his last Group win in the 2018 Greenham.

Scott said: "We won it with James Garfield and it’s been a little bit too much time between drinks at that level. We’d love to go back there as Newbury would suit him well, but we’ve got to get through Saturday first."

Scott similarly has Group 2 aspirations with Piz Nair, who could step up to seven furlongs at Doncaster on St Leger day.

"We’d love to see Piz Nair win at Newmarket and then he’d go for the Champagne Stakes for sure," said Scott. "He’s had options in stakes company but he still probably has some maturing to do and I felt it was more sensible to stick to novice company for now.

"He’s going to have to show some quality because he’s giving a penalty away to Jonny Concrete, who ran very well on his debut, and I know they like the Gosden horse [Eben Shaddad]. 

"He’s been training really nicely and he’ll appreciate the fast ground. It’s going to be a sensible test for him to see where we’re at for the remainder of the season. He’s definitely going to get a bit further in time."

Scott has saddled three winners from his last four runners at Ripon including Seven Questions, who bids to complete a four-timer in the track’s Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Ripon Champion Two Year Old Trophy Stakes (3.35) on Monday.

Seven Questions, who like Watch My Tracer, is owned by Victorious Racing and Fawzi Nass, has improved 14lb to an official rating of 96 following wins at Yarmouth, Ripon and Leicester. 

"He just keeps coming forward," said Scott. "He’s a laid-back character in his races so you wouldn’t know where his ceiling is. He absolutely cantered through that nursery at Leicester the other day.

"I thought it was a good performance, giving a penalty away and winning with such ease. He booked his ticket into stakes company."

On the chances of the son of Kodiac extending his winning streak in the £40,000 feature event at the North Yorkshire venue, Scott added: "He’s a course-and-distance winner, and of any track in the country, Ripon is a track you’d love to have some experience at."

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