Adrian Bott isn’t making excuses for Mayfair’s underwhelming performance on his return to the track, but he still believes the colt can bounce back at Rosehill.

The three-year-old found himself in an unexpected position in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m), struggling to cross from a wide draw and instead racing three-wide outside the pace-setters.

He faced mounting pressure on the home turn and faded to finish second-last, with no clear issues identified by the stable following the race.

Having shown strong form during the spring and continued to impress the team at home, Bott remained optimistic that Mayfair would be better suited to the Hobartville Stakes (1400m) this Saturday.

“There were probably a few surprising things out of that race, his early speed being one, so he had a run that was a bit tough,” Bott commented on Mayfair’s Eskimo Prince Stakes outing.

“He had to cover a bit of ground, but it was on-pace dominated and he gave ground sooner than we would have liked to have seen.”

“But maybe there are a few things he can turnaround.”

“He does get the addition of a tongue tie, which is the only gear change we’ll be making going into Saturday. I think the additional distance will help and maybe getting back to Rosehill will be an advantage for him.”

Just Party also struggled in the Eskimo Prince, leading trainers to remove the blinkers for his second-up start in the Hobartville.

Co-trainer Gerald Ryan explained that Just Party had been too keen with the blinkers and lacked finishing power.

“He raced too keenly the other day and he is better ridden back off them and let hit the line,” Ryan said.

“So we’ve taken the blinkers off and from barrier ten he’s going to have to go back.”

“If he can’t run a decent race in this he will be dropping back in grade, or he’ll be being two-stone lighter.”