Richard Fahey reports Wootton Bassett to have arrived home a "little bit stiff" after losing his unbeaten record in the French 2000 Guineas at Longchamp on Sunday.
The Iffraaj colt rounded off a stellar juvenile campaign with a Group One win at the Paris track in October and was a hot favourite to make a winning return to action.
But having shot out of the stalls and pulled himself clear early from his wide draw, he tired in the closing stages and passed the post in fifth place. Fahey is in no rush to make future plans for his star colt and will see how he fares when returning to work.
"He's had a trot out this morning and he's a little bit stiff, but other than that he's fine," said the Musley Bank handler.
"The ground was probably quicker than we thought it was going to be. I'm really not sure where we're going to go at the moment. We'll get him back cantering and have a look and see.
"He just ran too free on the day. It certainly wasn't Paul's (Hanagan) fault. What could he have done? He's taken a bit of criticism, which I think is wrong."
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