Charlie Appleby says both Words Of Truth and Military Code are on reconnaissance missions with regard to the rest of the season when they contest the BetMGM Scurry Stakes at Sandown.
Neither Godolphin colt has had a run this spring with Words Of Truth coming in off the back of a second place at Meydan back in January and Military Code not seen since last August.
While Appleby is hopeful both will be competitive he admitted Saturday’s Listed burn-up over the minimum trip at the Esher venue will prove informative when it comes to mapping out summer campaigns.
“Words Of Truth has a penalty for his Mill Reef Stakes win but goes into this in good order,” the trainer told the Godolphin website. “He had the one run out in Dubai over the winter and there will be some improvement to come for the run.
“He is dropping down from six furlongs but has shown plenty of pace and the stiff five at Sandown should play to his strengths.
“But we haven’t got any set targets beyond this race, and we wanted to get a run into him and see how he stacks up back in the UK.
“Military Code hasn’t been seen for a while, having missed his intended target at the Breeders’ Cup at the end of the season. He has put up a couple of solid races at this grade and proved pretty consistent through his career to date.
“It is a similar scenario to Words Of Truth in that we want to find out where we are with him so we can plan for the rest of the summer.”
The former would appear to bring the best form to the table after finishing off a hat-trick in the Group Two Mill Reef Stakes at two then hitting the frame in a conditions stakes on Ascot’s Champions Day.
Military Code’s two-year-old season finished prematurely with a second to Revival Power in a Listed contest at York in August before Appleby ran out of time to get him ready for the Breeders’ Cup.
Neither will have it all their own way with David O’Meara’s Manatee Mehmas bringing a decent level of form to the contest after running out an impressive winner on debut and backing it up with a solid fourth in a Listed contest at York.
Argentine Tango, sixth behind Royal Ascot-bound Night Raider in the Group Two Temple Stakes at Haydock, and the Kevin Ryan-trained Lady Youmzain, look the stiffest opposition of the rest of the nine-strong field.