'Little fish are sweet' - new approach works as Rock Chant gets off the mark in Britain

Rock Chant recorded a first win in Britain in the 2m handicap, and his trainer Ian Williams believes a change of approach can help him have a successful career for the yard. The five-year-old, a 9,000gns purchase from Joseph O’Brien’s yard, was running over the trip for the first time and Williams thought the step up made the difference.

"I think we got it a bit wrong initially and actually he's just a galloper and nothing else," he said. "He looks like a stayer and not a middle-distance horse as I thought he was when we first got him."

Rock Chant has been with Williams since January 2022, so connections have had to remain patient.

Williams said: "Little fish are sweet as they say and it was a nice victory. I'm pleased to see him win because we’ve had him a while.

"It was a good performance at Southwell last time out, but it was a step up in trip today and it was all about the improvement."

Williams is operating at a 17 per cent strike-rate in the past fortnight and he has a lot to look forward to.

"They're all in good form," he added. "Enemy has gone back to Dubai for the Gold Cup and Buxted Too picked up the all-weather bonus last month. Let's hope Rock can pick it up this month."

Welcome return

The Roger Varian-trained Chantico made a winning return when finishing strongly to land the feature 1m2f novice stakes.

The four-year-old, who has not run since finishing third at Epsom in September, recorded a first career victory when pulling two lengths clear of favourite Idee Fixee.

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