Morris Dancer one step shy of Vintage victory

John and Thady Gosden’s Morris Dancer took a significant stride forward when narrowly beaten in the Coral Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.

The Godolphin-owned son of Palace Pier was a winner when last seen in a Haydock novice, but with rivals proven at Group level, he was a 22-1 shot under William Buick.

Those odds meant little to him as he chased home Eve Johnson Houghton’s Zavateri, missing out by just a short head on the line.

John Gosden said: “We are thrilled with him, he has run a great race. He won at Haydock and then just had a little niggle and cough. So we backed off and he has come here off the minimum work and run a great race.

“That’s the July Stakes form, with the winner by an old friend of ours in Without Parole. Morris Dancer is by Palace Pier so it is nice to see your old pals in Group Two races like this.

“William said don’t be frightened to step up to a mile with him and we will do that somewhere.”

Ed Walker is not inclined to lower the sights of Do Or Do Not after his third-placed run under Tom Marquand, the latest in a string of placings in highly-competitive races.

“He’s a star, isn’t he? He just doesn’t know how to win yet, annoyingly!” said Walker.

“I actually thought today he was coming in to win but it was just greenness and whatever you want to call it, he was wandering around a little bit. He seems to find a way of not winning, which is frustrating.

“I think we’ll go for something easier but I don’t think we need to go for a maiden or a novice. The horse who was second in the Chesham (Thesecretadversary) was then beaten at 2-13 in one, it happens.

“There’s nothing to gain, he doesn’t need to win a maiden or a novice.

“He is a really solid horse and we are throwing the kitchen sink at him. He keeps answering. We might just try to find a slightly lower race – not a maiden because there isn’t any point – to give him some confidence.”