Trainer Tony Cruz revealed that Straight Forward has been anything but since his arrival last season, yet the five-year-old turned his form on its head at Happy Valley last night with a last-to-first win that heralded better things.
Purchased out of the Aidan O'Brien yard as a potential Derby contender, Straight Forward had form in Europe that included a second in the Group Two Dante Stakes at York and a Group One fourth in Paris when he raced as Freemantle.
But Cruz explained the reasons behind the horse's dismal form in eight local starts after Gerald Mosse surged down the outside to complete a winning double for the night.
'When he arrived, this horse had fibre damage to a tendon, then he had cycloids, like boils, on his abdomen, which needed to be burned off with lasers,' Cruz said.
'Then we had to have him gelded as well. He has been disappointing but I knew he was a better horse than he was showing and with all that going on, there were reasons why he was disappointing.'
Straight Forward was also aided by a change of tactics from a wide draw that saw him dropped out to the rear rather than contesting the front.