Detain set to bloom in the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes

DETAIN can secure victory in the Betfred Rose Of Lancaster Stakes (3pm) at Haydock Park this afternoon.

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John and Thady Gosden’s three-year-old can bounce back from his Royal Ascot disappointment and land the Group Three feature on Merseyside.

The three-year-old Wootton Bassett colt won on his first two starts in good style as a juvenile both at Kempton but on testing ground he couldn’t take the step up to Group One company when sixth behind Hotazhell and Delacroix in the William Hill Futurity Stakes at Doncaster.

That connections pitched him into one of the most informative mile juvenile contests on just his third start shows they believe he clearly has lots of potential to be a smart colt.

Detain continued his progress when beating Luther by a length on his seasonal return at Chelmsford City in April and was pitched back into top company. He ran well enough to finish sixth behind Aidan O’Brien’s Henri Matisse in the French Guineas at ParisLongchamp in May, having been held up in rear for much of the contest. It looked as if he needed a step up in trip again and when he moved up to the 1m2½f of the French Derby he was beaten less than a length in third behind another O’Brien Classic hero Camille Pissarro.

Detain was sent off a well-backed 3-1 second favourite when dropped back in trip slightly to 1m2f and down in grade for the Group Three Hampton Court Stakes at the Royal meeting in June. But he ran disappointingly on the quick surface and finished 10th of 12 behind O’Brien’s favourite Trinity College, who had been behind Detain in the French Derby.

He is clearly better than that and is given the chances to resume his progress in this similar 1m2½f contest at Haydock.