Adrian Bott isn’t looking for reasons to justify Mayfair’s disappointing performance first-up, but he remains confident in the colt’s ability to recover at Rosehill.

The three-year-old struggled in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m), failing to cross from a wide draw and instead getting stuck three-wide outside the speed.

He was under pressure heading into the home turn and weakened to finish second last, but the stable couldn’t find any clear issues after the race.

With his solid spring form and continued positive work at home, Bott believes Mayfair will 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 said of Mayfair’s performance in the Eskimo Prince Stakes.

“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 didn’t meet expectations in the Eskimo Prince, leading his trainers to remove the blinkers for the Hobartville Stakes.

Co-trainer Gerald Ryan explained that the blinkers were too much for Just Party, who struggled in the final stages.

“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.”