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Previews29 March 2023

'We hope to have big plans for him' - progressive Mount Athos bids to back up impressive course victory

Sir Dancealot: the nine-year-old is back from a break for trainer John Butler
Sir Dancealot: the nine-year-old is back from a break for trainer John ButlerCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Those of us who have been following racing for a long time will see the name Mount Athos and automatically think of the old warrior who won races like the Ormonde, Geoffrey Freer and Aston Park Stakes in a career spanning six years from late 2009 to the middle of 2014.

He isn’t making a dramatic comeback at the age of 16 in this 7f handicap, though, and the Mount Athos who heads the market here is a younger, speedier model trained by James Tate.

The four-year-old Mount Athos has four runs to his name and made rapid progress at the end of last year when winning back-to-back races at this trip by a combined total of ten lengths.

Mount Athos recorded his latest five-length victory on his handicap debut over course and distance in October and has gone up 12lb in the weights for such a comprehensive victory.

The form has since been franked by the runner-up, who is a two-time subsequent winner, and Mount Athos landed that win on the back of a 127-day break. That proved he can go well fresh, and plenty of further improvement could be forthcoming following a 161-day absence.

Those who recognise the name Mount Athos from the past will no doubt be familiar with the former David Elsworth-trained Sir Dancealot. But this is the real Sir Dancealot, back for more at the age of nine after a break for John Butler.

A four-time Group 2 winner in his heyday in 2018 and 2019, Sir Dancealot is still rated highly at 101, but he was 117 at his peak and Oisin Murphy has been booked for the ride.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway


What they say

James Horton, trainer of Rhythm Master
He appears to be in very good form at home. He's a bit quirky, but when things drop right he can look very good, and when they don't he doesn't necessarily give us everything. He's won on the all-weather, he's drawn nicely and should have a good chance.

James Ferguson, trainer of First Folio
He's in good form. It's his first run in a while so it will be interesting to see how he's done over the winter and whether he can stay a bit further this year. Physically he's done well, he's off a high mark already so I'd like to see some improvement.

James Tate, trainer of Mount Athos
He's done everything right in his little winter break so we're very optimistic. We had half an eye on the Cammidge at Doncaster but we've decided to come where we know he's good. The form has worked out from his last win and he's in great form, so I haven't really got any negatives. We hope we're going to have big plans for him.

Stuart Williams, trainer of Dubai Station
He's very well. The draw hasn't been kind to us and we're stepping up a furlong, I'm not sure how that's going to play out, but he was finishing off nicely at Wolverhampton last time. We've got Rossa Ryan booked again, which is always a plus.
Reporting by Maddy Playle


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