David Hayes has played down concerns surrounding his star galloper’s latest trial, insisting there is little to worry about ahead of his return to the races.

Hayes joined Calvin McEvoy and Troy Corstens on SENTrack & RSN's Giddy Up with Gareth Hall on Wednesday morning to discuss the trial, which was run at a leisurely tempo.

“He has pulled up really well, he ate all his feed and trotted up well,” Hayes said.

“My view on the trial is that a lot of people don't understand that we don't need to test this horse in a trial after he has won 21 in a row.

“We know how good he is. The trial was run at a leisurely tempo and not at a race tempo, so obviously all the horses are going to travel well.

“He was probably running four seconds below what he would usually be running in his races.”

Hayes even joked that the horse's lack of brilliance was more a product of the conditions than anything else.

“If myself and Calvin were jogging alongside each other he would probably look alright, but as soon as I quicken, he is very slow,” he joked.

The long grass was another factor, with Hayes explaining that the horse's action meant he was never likely to thrive in the conditions.

“The grass was long and double the length of what it probably will be raceday, and due to his daisy-cutting action, he tends to labour in that ground,” he said.

“He's a tight walker and if he was in a yearling sale you would probably note down that he doesn't walk great, but luckily there are no walking races.

“He'll have a strong gallop on Monday to clean him up like we did last year. He will come on so well from the trial and that gallop.

“As long as he does what he did last year, that's all that matters, and he is in better shape compared to last year.”

With a strong gallop on Monday expected to bring him on further, Hayes remains confident the trial is little more than a stepping stone towards his return to racing.

And with 21 straight wins already on the board, the Hayes camp appears more than happy to let the champion’s racetrack record do the talking.