WOOTTON BASSETT is set to go head-to-head with wonder-horse Frankel in next month’s St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Richard Fahey’s colt lost his unbeaten record when finishing fifth in the French 2,000 Guineas at Longchamp last weekend but the Malton handler reckons there were clear reasons for the disappointment.

“He just ran too free on the day,” he said. “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.”

Now, following a canter which has relieved a little of the stiffness Wootton Bassett felt on his return from France, Fahey has targeted a date with Frankel – who destroyed his rivals in the English 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket last month – at the Royal meeting.

“We’ve got to go for the St James’s Palace Stakes with him,” Fahey told sportinglife.com. “What happened at Longchamp knocks you back a stride as we were extremely confident going there and it was the first time he’s been beaten in his life but it wasn’t a disaster when you take everything into consideration.

“He was trying to do a thing that hasn’t been done very often – win from a high draw at Longchamp.”