Aleez Dances In At The Dante

The season is now well under way and the big meetings are coming up thick and fast. With all the good racing around, the classic trials continue which led into the first meeting of the year at York. The 3 day Dante festival is one that all Yorkshire trainers look forward to and Aleezdancer gave the team a great start to the meeting by taking the 6f Churchill Tyres Handicap on the opening day.

Aleezdancer has proven to be a solid sprinter through the last couple of seasons but had been unfortunate in some of the bigger sprints. Either the draw of ground conditions would go against him and he could never quite capture a big one. He returned to action this season with a good third before finding the ground too quick down at Newmarket. It was the same route he took last year, which meant that York was the next port of call.

Although never questioning his attitude, Kevin did feel that Aleezdancer may just be getting a little cute in his races now. Temperatures had been in the early 20’s leading up to the meeting but some strong rain showers seemed like it may have taken the sting out of the ground. Kevin thought hard about withdrawing in the morning, but patience proved key as the jockeys reported the ground to be on the easy side following the first race.

Neil Callan has been a regular partner for Aleezdancer and was in the saddle. As expected there was a strong pace from the outset which allowed Aleezdancer to settle towards the rear off the field through the early stages. Having been carried right from the start, he was probably a little further back than ideal but Callan played the hand he was dealt. With plenty of pace on the filed blasted through the first couple of furlongs.

With no let up from the leaders, the field were past halfway and getting racing. The jockeys were trying to get their mounts into a challenging position as the veteran Dakota Gold travelled powerfully in front. Callan wasn’t working yet but he was trying to look for a clear line of sight to go through with his challenge. Moving to his right there was a wall of horses, causing Neil to check his run and manoeuvre for another angle.

Passing the 2f pole, Aleezdancer found himself moving up through the field but then hit another blockage. Neil sat up pin the saddle, checking his run once more and had to suffer for a good number of strides. In front the leader continued to turn it on and kicked clear of the field. As they charged into the final furlong, daylight appeared for Aleezdancer and now Callan could get into his full drive. Once the gap appeared, the 5yo quickened up and burst between rivals to give chase. Sowing that he was full of running, Aleezdancer passed rivals comfortably to move through and had eyes on the leader. With the wind in his sails, Aleezdancer mowed down the long time leader and passed him with 11o yards to run. Sweeping to the lead he then pulled clear and took the 6f handicap by a cosy 1 1/2 lengths.

This is Aleezdancer’s biggest win to date and sets up the season ahead for the top sprint handicaps. He loves some cut in the ground but the first time blinkers did the job here. Aleezdancer contested all the big ones last year and that will be the plan once again this season. If conditions land in his favour, as well as a bit of luck. Aleezdancer could add another nice pot to his CV.