Royal Ascot winner My Dream Boat to step up in trip after his Sandown third
Cox's five-year-old stayed on well for third in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown last Friday and Cox thinks there will be more improvement to come from him this season
TRAINER Clive Cox will step Royal Ascot winner My Dream Boat up in trip after his seasonal debut at Sandown.
The five-year-old was looking to win back-to-back renewals of the Gordon Richards Stakes and although he didn't achieve that, he stayed on nicely for third behind winner Ulysses.
Cox is now looking at the Group 3 Al Rayyan Aston Park Stakes at Newbury on May 20 as his next start.
It will be the first time My Dream Boat has attempted the mile and a half trip.
Cox said: "I was very satisfied with his run at Sandown as a seasonal debut. I was pleased with the way he finished the race and it does confirm what we were talking about stepping him up to a mile and a half. That will be the plan with for him now.
"We've been so dry at home he has missed the last three weeks preparation on the grass, but he was not beaten from a fitness point of view, there was just a lack of early pace.
"He is another year older and the extra couple of furlongs will help.
"At Royal Ascot we will consider the mile-and-a-half race (Hardwicke) rather than the mile-and-a-quarter race (Prince of Wales's Stakes) he won last year.
"I think we will look at the Aston Park at Newbury for him next if the ground there is not too quick."