Charlie Appleby expects Barney Roy to prove tough to beat in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis  Bayerisches Zuchtrennen at Munich.

The 2017 St James’s Palace Stakes hero will attempt to bounce back to winning ways by securing his second Group One victory of the year in Sunday’s mile-and-a-quarter contest.

After making a winning return in a Group Two at Meydan, Barney Roy followed it up with victory back at the top table in the Jebel Hatta before finishing a respectable third behind Lord North in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Appleby said: “This race has been our target since Royal Ascot, and we have worked back from it. He has had a nice little break, and his preparation has gone well.

“If he turns up with that Ascot form, and the form from Meydan, he is the horse they have all got to beat.

“It was slightly softer ground than ideal for him at Royal Ascot, and it looks as though it will be a sounder surface in Germany – which will suit him.”

Looking at future targets Appleby hopes Barney Roy could form part of his team for Australia later in the year, providing all goes well in Germany.

Appleby said: “If Barney Roy was to win this weekend we could look at getting him ready for something like the Cox Plate later in the year.

“He is one of those likeable horses. He still shows all his enthusiasm and he is a nice horse to have around.”

The Newmarket handler is also represented by Spotify, who will look to put a  disappointing run in a Listed event at Sandown behind him on his return to Group One company.

He added: “Spotify is in there on his own merits.

“If he brings his Meydan form with him he will run a sensible race. He is another that could be given an international campaign later on.”

The Joesph O’Brien-trained Patrick Sarsfield, who will be seeking to complete a five-timer, provides Irish interest in the race.