'It’s nice to get the ball rolling' - Michael Attwater off the mark for 2023

Monday: Southwell

Thismydream built on a promising second at Lingfield the time before to get off the mark at the 23rd attempt in the 5f novice, ending his trainer Michael Attwater’s own two-month wait for a winner in the process.

The four-year-old proved that chasing home the promising Shadwell-owned Rabaah over six furlongs when last seen was no fluke as he scored by half a length over a shorter trip under Daniel Muscutt. Thismydream was winless in 13 starts when with Willie Browne in Ireland before joining Attwater, who said: “He’s probably been unlucky.

“The first time I ran him last year he bumped into one of George Boughey’s [Spangled Mac], who I see is running out in Dubai now, and I think in that last run at Lingfield he probably bumped into something fairly above average there as well.

“Today it was really a case of whether the drop back to five [furlongs] was going to be an issue or not. He’s a strong traveller, he likes to get on with things and I think we just kept it simple and it’s paid off. Hopefully now it can give him a bit of confidence and he can go on again."

The Epsom trainer added: “The horses were running well at the back end of last year, and for the start of 2023 we thought we’d hit the ground running but there have just been a few disappointments. One or two of the horses didn’t turn up on the day and perform, so it’s nice to get the ball rolling.”

On the board

Also getting off the mark for 2023 were Newmarket trainer Joseph Parr, whose mare Arthur’s Victory landed the mile handicap for fillies, and dual-purpose handler Derek Shaw, who took the closing 5f handicap with Miss Belladonna.

Results, replays and analysis

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