Johnny Barnes, the Bermudian-owned thoroughbred, will run at the Prix Perth at Saint-Cloud on Sunday — but only if the conditions are to his liking.

Saint-Cloud has proved a happy hunting ground for Johnny Barnes, who finished runner-up in his first group one race, the Critérium International, at the Paris racetrack a year ago.

The ground at Saint-Cloud is expected to suit the three-year-old with John Gosden, his esteemed trainer, optimistic the horse can produce a positive finish to a frustrating season.

“He’s in super form and we’re going to one of my all-time favourite races at Saint-Cloud, the Prix Perth,” Gosden said.

“It’s a group three race, he’ll carry a penalty [an additional weight carried by a horse on account of previous wins], and it would be lovely to attack that race and finish with another group win.

“It should suit him at Saint-Cloud at this time of year. He’s got a great turn of foot in that ground, as he proved as a two-year-old when he finished second [at the Critérium International].

“He’s a very honest horse and he’ll give you everything. If we get the rain we’re in action, if we don’t get the rain we’re not going to go and play.”

A conditions-dependent horse, Johnny Barnes has not got his ground on three of his four outings this season.

When he did, he stormed to victory at the Prix Quincy Barrieire, a group three race at the Deauville Racecourse in Normandy.

Ridden by Frankie Dettori, the bay colt beat several previous winners at group three level in the seven-furlong race to claim the winner’s prize of €50,400 (about $57,000) for the Bermuda Thoroughbred Racing owners.

Dettori, a three-times champion jockey, even treated the owners and their entourage to one of his famous flying dismounts in the winner’s enclosure to celebrate the triumph.

With Dettori riding Golden Horn at the Breeder’s Cup Turf at Keeneland at the weekend, Richard Havlin, a very capable stable jockey, will likely take the reins of Johnny Barnes.

“You have races you plan to run in, but they’ve all been good to firm, ground we couldn’t run on,” said Gosden, who is considered one of the finest trainers of his generation.

“We gave Johnny a couple of runs, one at Sandown Park and one at Goodwood. We didn’t want to be training him and not running him. I don’t think that’s psychologically good for a horse.

“Things came together perfectly at Deauville when he won the group three race in great fashion.”

Simon Scupham, who teamed up with Highclere, the leading horse syndicate management firm in Britain, to establish BTR in 2013, said Johnny Barnes — the syndicate’s flagship horse — would not be risked unless the ground was good to soft.

“The trainer has absolutely concurred that we will not put him in any race if the ground doesn’t suit him,” said Scupham, who revealed that Johnny Barnes had been earmarked for the Lockinge Stakes, a group one race at Newbury Racecourse next year.

“He’s the flag bearer for this syndicate and we don’t have to do that with him.”

Horseshoe Bay, who is also part of the Longtail account, has also endured a difficult three-year-old career.

He shed his maiden with a seven-length victory at Newmarket in May, but has since been moved from the home of British Flat racing to Lambourn, where he is taking a break while recovering from a joint issue.

“Horseshoe Bay was always a relatively weak horse for his age,” Scupham said.

“He’s become a ‘normal’ horse for a few months so he can grow into himself. He’s a good prospect and we’ll have a lot of fun with him next year.”

Sir Michael Stoute, his trainer, said he believed Horseshoe Bay could enjoy a breakout season as a four-year-old.

“I thought he ran a satisfactory race at the Bahrain Stakes [at Newmarket in May] where he was beaten by 3½ lengths,” he said.

“We were preparing him for the Melrose Stakes at York but he had a minor problem with a joint.

“I said ‘listen, this fella is a real four-year-old in the making. He’s got so much scope and physical improvement in him, don’t even risk him for the sake of two more races this year’.”

“We’ve backed off him, let him develop and we’re now looking forward to next year with him.”