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Meehan Pleased with Dancing David Ahead of Craven Stakes
14/04/10

Dancing David proved himself capable of mixing it at the top level last season and the colt is pleasing trainer Brian Meehan ahead of the £65,000 Group Three Racing Post breezeupbonus.com Craven Stakes, staged over a mile at Newmarket on Thursday, April 15, for which there are nine declarations.

Meehan’s charge improved with each of his three starts as a juvenile and followed a Newbury maiden win with a fine fourth behind StanJames.com 2000 Guineas favourite St Nicholas Abbey in the Group One Racing Post Trophy over a mile at Doncaster on October 24.

Dancing David was two and three quarter lengths behind runner-up Elusive Pimpernel on that occasion and is set to renew rivalry with the John Dunlop-trained colt on the Rowley Mile.

Meehan revealed this morning: “Dancing David has done very well through the winter and I am looking forward to running him on Thursday. I was very pleased with his effort in the Racing Post Trophy last year - you could not ask for better, really.

“After the Craven, he is in the English and Irish 2000 Guineas but we are not leaning one way or the other at the moment. We will see how he does on Thursday before deciding whether he goes back to Newmarket for the StanJames.com 2000 Guineas but we are very pleased with him and we think a lot of him.”

Peter Chapple-Hyam saddled Morana to take fifth in the Group One Racing Post Trophy, a length and a quarter behind Dancing David, and the Newmarket trainer is hoping for a good show from the Alhaarth colt, who he feels will eventually benefit from more of a stamina test.

Chapple-Hyam said today: “Everything has gone really well through the winter with Morana. We have had no problems with him whatsoever and he is in really good form, which he would need to be against Elusive Pimpernel, who I think could be the StanJames.com 2000 Guineas winner. We would have every chance if you took him out but of course you cannot be frightened of one horse.

“Morana is a nice horse but he is more of a stayer than a miler, in my opinion. He is so well at the moment that we might as well run him. He would need to win for us to consider going back there for the StanJames.com 2000 Guineas but we are hoping for a good run before stepping him up in distance afterwards.

“He is in the Dante at York and the hope, although it is a long way off, is that he might prove to be a horse for the Derby. It might be a pipe dream but you never know.”

With eight Craven Stakes wins to his name, Sir Michael Stoute is the most successful trainer in the race’s history. The Freemason Lodge handler relies on Markazzi this time, the colt having won a Leicester maiden before finishing in mid-division behind Oasis Dancer in the Tattersalls Timeform Million at the course in October.

The field also includes the Barry Hill-trained Critical Moment, Lucky General from the Richard Hannon stable, the David Simcock-trained Dubawi Phantom, Mont Agel, trained by Michael Bell and the Paul D’Arcy-trained Edinburgh Knight.