Phoenix Of Dreams made the long trip south on Monday night to race at Windsor as he looked to take another step forward following his encouraging return to action a couple of weeks ago.

Our four-year-old was the sole representative for Highfield Stables, as the Yorkshire-based training duo John and Sean Quinn unsurprisingly opted not to send anymore runners on the 220-mile trip to the Berkshire course.

The conditions were ideal for flat racing for the first three races on the card, but the wet weather arrived prior to the fourth contest, turning the ground soft in a matter of minutes, as well as delaying proceedings due to safety concerns surrounding the thunderstorm that had moved in.

When Phoenix Of Dreams did eventually make it to the parade ring, he appeared to be quite animated and wasn't as relaxed as he usually is as he walked around. This continued when Jason Hart jumped on board, and he could be seen pulling towards the outside rail whilst heading down to post. 


Phoenix Of Dreams' Owners for the Day with jockey, Jason Hart, in the parade ring before the race

As the gates opened, Phoenix Of Dreams bolted to the front under a strong hold alongside the well supported Tony Carroll filly, Cindy Lou Who. Despite a blistering start in terms of position, Phoenix Of Dreams was still pulling quite considerably, giving Jason Hart the tough task of trying to keep a lid on him and ensure he didn't end up being completely isolated on the outside of the field. 

After a furlong or so, he seemed to settle down slightly, but it wasn't long before his early exuberance began to take it's toll. As the pair entered the final couple of furlongs, Phoenix Of Dreams' effort quickly petered out, and so Jason allowed him to come home in his own time under hands and heels. In his post-race interview, which you can watch below, Jason admitted that he might actually prefer slightly better ground in future which 

WATCH: Jason Hart gives his thoughts on Phoenix Of Dreams' race at Windsor

We caught up with Sean Quinn this morning to get his thoughts and this is what he had to say: 

"Phoenix Of Dreams is absolutely fine this morning. I had wondered if he might be sore given the setback he had earlier in the year and the way he ran yesterday but he's trotted up fine this morning and looks in good shape. 

I've watched the race back and I've had a chat with Jason Hart, and we've both said that he was very keen to the point that he's almost ran himself out of the race within the first couple of furlongs. He also hung quite badly out to the left almost as soon as he jumped out of the stalls.

There are two things that I'm going to switch up going forward with him, the first being that we're going to start working him in a hood and we might start racing him in a hood as well, because this isn't the first time that he's been very keen and it might help to calm him down a little bit and straighten him up.

I'm also going to change the bit in his mouth which should also assist with the issue we have with him hanging during his races. 

We'll do that at home and update you in due course, but he is fine this morning and hopefully we'll see some improvement in his next run."

Keep an eye on the Coral Racing Club over the coming weeks to find out how the adjustments have gone and to find out where his next step will be on the racecourse.