Smart keeps Bond options open

Trainer Bryan Smart says plans for Sagitta 2000 Guineas sixth Monsieur Bond remain “fluid”.

The son of Danehill Dancer, a 100-1 outsider, looked to be one of those to come off worst in a rough race at Newmarket yesterday after he got trapped on the rail.

Jockey Paul Scallan finally managed to get a clear run in the final furlong and few were finishing faster than Monsieur Bond who was just two lengths adrift of the winner Refuse To Bend.

“It was just one of those things. He was on the rail and didn’t get good run as all the other horses came across him,” Smart said.

“He was the last one off the bridle though, I’m not saying we would have won but you just don’t know.”

The Hambleton House handler is now planning to bide his time before making a decision on where the colt, who won two races as a juvenile, will run next, although a trip to Royal Ascot could be on the cards.

“Plans are fluid. We’ve got him in the St James’s Palace Stakes which is a possibility,” he added.

“We’ll have to sit down and have a look, we’re not making any definite plans for the horse but he’s proved he can go most places now and run his race.”

Monsieur Bond was a speedy two-year-old but Smart believes he may be kept to trips around a mile this season.

He added: “I think I could keep him at a mile but I could also drop him back to seven furlongs on a stiff track. We’ll have to see how he goes.”