Dancing David

Mentioned here before when he finished second to Raine’s Cross in a novice event at Salisbury last month, Dancing David deserves another mention after winning his maiden at Newbury last Thursday. He was still green here, and he carried his head a bit high, but in fairness to the horse he didn’t have any cover as he raced on the near side through the early stages. He moved across towards the centre at half way, and he always had matters well in hand. The well backed John Gosden horse Lunar Victory seemed to be going as well as Dancing David passing the two-furlong pole, but Dancing David bounded clear inside the final furlong, running out an easy winner in the end.

A son of Danehill Dancer and a half-brother to Ordination, who won over a mile and a half, Dancing David has plenty of scope and you feel that he is going to go on and be a better three-year-old than a juvenile. Martin Dwyer said afterwards that he wanted to make plenty of use of him here, he just got a bit lonely on his own on the near rail so the rider allowed him drift over to the others in the centre, where he was happier. Trainer Brian Meehan said afterwards that the dead ground wouldn’t have been in his favour, that he won in spite of it rather than because of it. He has come on a lot for his debut but he was still raw and green here. However, he has a big engine and he could still be a Racing Post Trophy horse. Meehan won that race last year with Crowded House, and he has had three other placed horses in it from just seven runners in the last 10 years, so he knows the type of horse that is required to do well in it, and he seemed to think afterwards that this fellow could be the right type. Looking further ahead, Dancing David could be among the very best middle-distance three-year-olds next season. He could even be a Derby horse, although he is such a big long-striding horse, he would probably want at best good ground at Epsom to help him navigate his way around Tattenham Corner.

8th October 2009