Morris Dancer wins with bells on at Salisbury

Promising juvenile Morris Dancer took full advantage of a drop down to Listed level with an easy victory in the Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury, UK, on Wednesday, 13 August.

From the first crop of Palace Pier, the John & Thady-Gosden trained colt was stepping up to a mile on the back of two strong runs over seven furlongs, including a short-head second in the G2 Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

William Buick settled Morris Dancer in a clear second of the three runners before producing the Godolphin homebred to challenge fellow Palace Pier colt A Bit Of Spirit entering the final quarter mile.

Morris Dancer established a clear advantage over a furlong out and overcame signs of greenness in the closing stages to cross the line four lengths in front.

Thady Gosden said: “Morris Dancer ran a very good race at Goodwood, doing all his best work late on. It was only his fourth start today, so he is still a little green and learning, but he bounced out of Goodwood and we felt this was the right place to come.

“You could see when he hit the front today, he was not quite sure what to do and William had to keep him up to his work, but the second is a nice horse, also by Palace Pier. I think that is Palace Pier’s first Stakes winner and he has some nice ones knocking around.

“Morris Dancer has had two quick races on the bounce now, so we will see how he comes out of it. There is a little bit of time until Doncaster, where he could drop back to seven furlongs for the Champagne Stakes, or he could wait for Newmarket.”

William Buick added: “Morris Dancer did ever so well at Goodwood, when he showed signs of inexperience. The way he jumped from the stalls and everything that day, we were too far behind, but he still ran a huge race. It is lovely to see him back it up today. He is learning on the job, but he is very genuine and straightforward. You can place him anywhere in a race. I think he is improving with each run.

“I don’t think he will mind some juice in the ground. I thought after Goodwood that he would get a mile – and he has proved that today. I would be very happy if connections want to stay at a mile or come back to seven furlongs. I think he is versatile in that regard.”