George Scott has big plans for Wimbledon Hawkeye

George Scott is targeting further international success for Wimbledon Hawkeye after the talented middle-distance performer was subject of a mid-season transfer to the Eve Lodge handler.

Winner of the Royal Lodge and the Nashville Derby for Scott’s Newmarket neighbour James Owen, the son of Kameko has been a model of consistency throughout his career so far and having shown a liking for overseas missions for his previous connections, he has been snapped up by the Victorious Forever team with more global adventures in mind.

“We’re pleased to have him and he’s proven himself at a high level all the way through his career,” said Scott.

“He’s a horse we identified that would suit some international plans later down the line and the previous connections did a brilliant job with him. Hopefully we can keep him on the same trajectory.”

It is perhaps not surprising given Wimbledon Hawkeye’s new ownership and Scott’s previous success in the Middle East that the colt will have a trip to Bahrain on his itinerary, with the Bahrain International Trophy the ultimate aim after the Gulf state’s flagship race was recently upgraded to Group One status.

However, before that the four-year-old will have the chance to don his new colours both home and abroad with a plethora of global options in the equation.

Scott added: “He’s a horse who looks like he will fit perfectly in our system and it would probably make sense to aim him towards the Bahrain International Trophy later in the year.

“We’ll run him once here in England just to get to know him and it won’t be the be all and end all, and then he could go back to Kentucky Downs where he won last year for a race at the same meeting (Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational).

“Other options are races like the Canadian International or even a Group One in Germany, but fundamentally he will be aimed at the Bahrain International.

“I think it’s important to be represented all year round. That’s the ambition of Shaikh Nasser (bin Hamed Al Khalifa) and it also aligns well with the aims of our stable.

“We’re very lucky to be able to train horses like this and I’m very grateful to Victorious Forever for identifying the horse, buying him and then letting me train him.”