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Charlie Appleby will look to a more conventional track with Desert Flower after she surrendered her unbeaten record in the Epsom Oaks on Friday.

Stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time on the back of a reappearance success in the opening Classic of the season, the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, Desert Flower was sent off an 11/10 chance to remain unbeaten.

However, the writing was on the wall some way out for Charlie Appleby's daughter of Night Of Thunder, who was struggling to get terms with both Whirl and Minnie Hauk as the field turned for home.

To her credit, Desert Flower boxed on nicely for third, with Appleby keen to test his filly back on a more conventional track on better ground.

He said: "It just looked like she got a bit unbalanced coming down the hill and hit a bit of a flat spot just at the point you don't want to but take nothing away from the first two as they just kept galloping.

The Moulton Paddocks-based handler mooted the Yorkshire Oaks, over the same mile and a half trip, as a potential target, with Desert Flower now set for a short break.

Appleby added: "We all think she got it [the trip] and personally I'd like to see her in something like the Yorkshire Oaks, on a nice galloping track. We'll give her a break now.

"Will just thought she'd be more comfortable on a sounder surface than she got today. She won on slow ground in the Fillies' Mile, but slow ground on a track like this might have been a consideration. Back on a more conventional track will hopefully be more her gig."

Appleby also revealed he will be on weather watch ahead of Ruling Court's participation in tomorrow's Epsom Derby, although he believes the track will be OK for the 2000 Guineas winner, who will attempt to do what Desert Flower failed this afternoon.

"We're just on weather watch," said Appleby. "There's not as much rain around – we were forecast showers this afternoon and it's been a lovely, drying day.

"We know what this track can do in these conditions, the horse is in great form and I'm looking forward to him running, (but) I will just highlight that if all of a sudden we get a deluge (of rain) and the ground becomes very testing, then conversations will have to be had during the build-up to the race over whether we participate or not.

"So, there is a warning out there, but I think we'll be OK. It looks as though the weather has broken up a bit and the forecast tonight doesn't look as though it's going to be quite as severe as it was first forecast to be."