Dancer trip no worry to Cox

Old Newton Cup winner Dansili Dancer steps up in trip to contest the the Listed Call 08000 568 621 Chester Handicap on the Roodee tomorrow.

The five-year-old has yet to race beyond a mile and a half but trainer Clive Cox is confident the extended 13 furlongs will not prove troublesome.

“He’s in very good form. He came out of the Haydock race very well. He’s a horse that likes quicker ground and dry conditions should suit him,” Cox said.

The Dansili gelding pulled out all the stops to beat off stiff competition in the Haydock race, most notable the Luca Cumani-trained Futun.

This showed a marked improvement in form from his penultimate run where he was eighth to Championship Point at Glorious Goodwood in July.

Cox has attributed this to a combination of drier conditions, the step up in distance and the fact he is a horse who peaks late in the summer.

He said: “The drier conditions made the difference at Haydock. He is a horse that comes to himself this time of year. The last two years he has really thrived in the second half of the summer.

“He’s stepping up in trip tomorrow. He has been consistently stepping up for a while. This is new territory again and I hope he can handle it.

“I think he will – as he gets older he seems to be developing the stamina for it.”