Connections of Eydon are retaining plenty of faith despite the five-year-old not reading the script on his return from a long layoff in the Winter Derby.

A one-time Derby hope when trained by Roger Varian, the son of Olden Times had been off the track for 665 days when making his stable debut for Andrew Balding in the Southwell Group Three last Saturday.

Sent off the 15-2 fourth favourite of six, he was always towards the rear of the field in the hands of Kevin Stott and trailed home seven and a half lengths adrift of the winner Military Order.

The post-race vets report stated that Eydon finished lame on his left hind, but he has since trotted up fine back home at Kingsclere, with his team now eyeing the turf season and Sandown’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes on May 23 mooted as a possible early objective.

“He was trotted up the next day and they said he was fine but scratchy behind, and then the day after he was at exercise,” explained Ted Voute, racing advisor to Eydon’s owner Prince Faisal.

“It said left hind in the vet report, so maybe he tied up, but I’ve talked to Andrew twice since and he said he’s been ridden and, as far as he is concerned, everything is fine. He may have tweaked something in the race after having so much time off.

“We’re not going to Dubai, but Andrew has talked about the Brigadier Gerard. I think the next week or two will tell us more, but so far there are more positives than the vet report.”

Eydon will bid to honour his sire Olden Times when he makes his eagerly-awaited return from 665 days off the track in the BetUK Winter Derby at Southwell.

An impressive winner of the Feilden Stakes when trained by Roger Varian in 2022, he was last seen finishing fourth to Coroebus in that year’s 2000 Guineas, with an injury sustained in the build-up to the 2022 Derby the start of a plethora of issues that have kept him sidelined for almost two years.

Now in training with Andrew Balding, he sat out the whole of the 2023 season, but is reported to be in rude health following a recent racecourse gallop at Kempton and will be partnered for the first time by Kevin Stott when lining up in the Group Three event, which for the first time will be run over 11 furlongs.

“He went for a racecourse gallop the other day with Andrew and it seemed to go satisfactory,” said Ted Voute, racing adviser to Eydon’s owner Prince Faisal.

“His last run was in the Guineas when he was fourth. It will be some training feat to get him back and to the level of fitness required to run creditably after such a length of time off. But, touch wood, Andrew is pleased with him and thinks he will run a nice race.

“It’s a pretty even field and they are all rated around the same figures apart from Lord North and we will see.”

Connections will not only be hoping Eydon’s Rolleston appearance can book a trip to the Middle East for Dubai World Cup night next month, but also that the five-year-old can pay an on-course tribute to his sire, who died earlier this month at the age of 25.

“He has an entry in Dubai (in the Sheema Classic), but that is rather far-fetched at the moment. He would have to beat Lord North or run very respectably against him, but we will see how we get on,” said Voute.

“We keep our fingers crossed and his owner has had incredible faith in him and patience which in this day and age is quite unusual.

“He loves the sire line and sadly Eydon’s father Olden Times passed away two weekends ago from old age. It would lovely if he could replace him somehow, but he’s got a lot to do before he does that.”

Eydon is pencilled in to make his long-awaited debut for Andrew Balding in next month’s BetUK Winter Derby.

The five-year-old was previously trained by Roger Varian, winning the 2022 Feilden Stakes before finishing fourth to Coroebus in the 2000 Guineas, beaten just four and a quarter lengths.

However, Eydon has not run since that Classic date two years ago, with a series of injury setbacks keeping him on the sidelines before he moved to the care of Balding ahead of the 2023 campaign.

The son of Olden Times missed his intended first start for the yard at Sandown in September, but Balding reports him to be in good form ahead of the February 24 contest at Southwell.

He said: “Eydon has a very high level of form, although it has been some time since he was last on the track. He has had a few niggles, but we are really pleased with him at the moment and the Winter Derby is very much the plan.

“The intention is to go straight there without a run – we feel that is the right thing to do.”

Balding also has Dante Stakes winner The Foxes and Teumessias Fox in the Group Three, but neither appear likely to run in the Winter Derby.

The trainer added: “I am very happy with The Foxes. Our preferred option for him is the Saudi Cup meeting, but he is likely to run in the Winter Derby Trial at Southwell on January 25 as a prep. We will see how that goes and then make a decision on what to do next.

“Our other entry Teumessias Fox will stay in handicaps for the time being. He has ability and we felt it was worth giving him the option, just in case the race cuts up.”

Last year’s winner and multiple Group One scorer Lord North is one of 22 entries for the race, which will be taking place at Southwell for the first time.

Previously run over a mile and a quarter at Lingfield since its inception in 1998, the switch to Southwell has prompted an increase in distance to 11 furlongs.

David Attwood, Southwell’s clerk of the course, said: “We do not have a 10-furlong start and, when we looked at whether we could introduce one, it was only about 20 yards from the start of the bend.

“It also would have meant coming on and off the track via the turf course, which was not viable, so the British Horseracing Authority kindly allowed us to change the race distance to a mile and three furlongs.

“It is exciting because the BetUK Winter Derby will be the first Group race run here at Southwell, while the same card also features the Listed BetUK Hever Sprint.”

Lord North is one of five entries for John and Thady Gosden, along with Lion’s Pride and Middle Earth, who both enjoyed Listed success on their latest starts, 2021 Winter Derby winner Forest Of Dean and progressive handicapper Vaguely Royal.

Australian Group One winner Dubai Honour and Mujtaba have been entered by William Haggas, with Jean-Claude Rouget’s Glaer another eyecatching possible.

One-time Derby fancy Eydon is creeping towards an eagerly-awaited return to the racecourse later this month, with connections dreaming of teeing-up a shot at Ascot’s Qipco Champion Stakes later in the autumn.

The lightly-raced colt’s progress has been curtailed by injury and having advertised his talent with a taking success at Newmarket in the Feilden Stakes, he returned to the Rowley Mile to finish an honourable fourth behind Coroebus when getting a first taste of Classic action in the 2000 Guineas.

He was on course for a second bite of the Classic cherry in the Derby when a setback ruled him out of the race, and his 2000 Guineas appearance remains Eydon’s last sighting on a racecourse.

Switched to Andrew Balding from Roger Varian over the winter, it was anticipated he would return to the track in the early stages of the 2023 season, but a further issue in the spring ruled him out of the key summer months.

An outing at Listed level in either the Chasemore Farm Fortune Stakes at Sandown (September 20) or Ayr’s Virgin Bet Doonside Cup Stakes (September 23) is on the radar, before a possible big-race tilt on British Champions Day (October 21), providing Eydon shows he retains all of his old ability.

“Oisin Murphy was on him at Andrew’s and seemed happy and we’re going to either the Doonside Cup or the Fortune Stakes,” said Ted Voute, owner Prince Faisal’s racing adviser.

“He’s probably going to be a bit ring-rusty, but the aim is to see if we can get him to the Champion Stakes.

“It’s a big ask and he’s had lots of little niggly things along the way, but from what Andrew has seen, he has seen sparks of good things on the gallops and touch wood he’s still in one piece and that will be the plan.

“We’ll see how we go and we thought it was a good idea to have a target, because if he came out and was as good as he was in the Feilden Stakes then we would have a bash. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”