Gorytus makes a winning start and could emulate infamous namesake in Acomb

One of racing's murkiest tales could have a sequel 38 years on after Gorytus made a winning debut at York on Sunday.

The Richard Fahey-trained colt is now set to return to the Knavesmire for the Acomb Stakes, a race his infamous namesake took as a juvenile back in 1982.

The original Gorytus looked an absolute superstar when landing that 7f contest by seven lengths under Willie Carson and following up just as impressively by five in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

He started 1-2 favourite for his clash with Middle Park Stakes winner Diesis in the Dewhurst Stakes but was making hard work of things from halfway and dropped right out to finish a remote last of four.

Watch the new Gorytus land his maiden in good style at York

Trainer Dick Hern never arrived at a conclusive explanation for the colt's poor performance and there was widespread suspicion that the horse had been got at by dopers.

Gorytus was never the same horse again and, although still rated the third best juvenile in Europe in the International Classification, he did not win at three and was retired to stud after failing to add to his tally in the US as a four-year-old.

Fahey, who was barely a teenager in 1982, was delighted with his namesake's successful start under jockey David Nolan and said: "He's quite a nice horse but on paper it looked a competitive race and it was nice to run well.

"We'll see how he is and how the form works out but the Acomb was a race I'd earmarked for him – we won it last year."

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