WATCH: Conservative canters around Wolverhampton in recent piece of work – plus latest update from Scott Dixon
It's been a series of unfortunate minor setbacks however that have played a big part in that, with the addition of Southwell racecourse getting completely flooded in October which meant trainer Scott Dixon had to transport his entire yard over to Wolverhampton racecourse.
The good news now is that Scott's yard is back up and running across Southwell and Wolverhampton, and more importantly, Conservative continues to edge closer to his return.
With all of the UK flat racing events now switching to the all-weather, we're hopeful Conservative can bounce back and begin to show more of the form he did at the beginning of the year at the likes Southwell and Wolverhampton when he returns to the track.
WATCH: Conservative's promising debut run at Southwell
Speaking to Scott earlier this week, this is what he had to say on Conservative's progress:
"He is very fresh at the moment, which is a sign to me he is not far off being ready for a run.
Annie rode him around Wolverhampton earlier in the week and he nearly threw her off a couple of times. He has a reputation in my yard for being a naughty boy, but everybody loves him.
He did three laps of Wolverhampton’s course at a steady canter and I am going to do some faster work with him over a shorter trip."
Tune in to the latest video at the top of the article to watch Conservative during part of his steady canter earlier this week.