Dickensian picks up deserved York victory Dickensian put last season’s near-misses behind him by coming out on top in the British Stallion Studs EBF Westow Stakes at York. The Pinatubo colt had not won since his debut six races ago, but had place honours in the Windsor Castle, Molecomb Stakes and Flying Childers as a juvenile. Kevin Ryan’s charge, who also came third over course and distance in the Julia Graves Roses Stakes last term, completely missed the break and gave a couple of lengths away to the field in the Listed sprint contest before working his way back into the pack. He swung to outside to make his move and continued to close in on leading duo Simplify and favourite Aspect Island before hitting the line a half-length clear to seal a 12-1 success in the hands of Shane Gray. “He just bumped in the stalls and missed the break a little bit, but they went hard which played into his hands,” Ryan said. “I think he’d be the type of horse for Glorious Goodwood, a fast track like that and he ran well there last year. “He’s not in anything at Royal Ascot, there is a chance we could supplement him for something, but he’s only a young horse. It’s a long season after Ascot. I’ll speak to connections and make a plan with him. “Six furlongs doesn’t look like a problem. The July Cup hasn’t closed yet so there’s a chance there, why not? Let this sink in and then we will decide.”
