Dean Ivory is looking forward to a big season
Dean Ivory is looking forward to a big season with stable stars Sirius Prospect, Tropics and Lancelot Du Lac.
Last Updated: 21/03/14 9:34am
Dean Ivory's exciting six-year-old did not make his racecourse debut until late into his four-year-old season, but has swiftly made up for lost time and was one of the success stories of the sprinting division last season, with five wins.
Tropics, whose rating has risen 84 to 116, has not been seen since running away with the Group Three Bengough Stakes at Ascot in early October, but is set for an imminent return.
Ivory said: "He is very well at the moment and hopefully he'll start off in the Cammidge and we'll take it from there.
"I hoped he might be Listed class or a bit better, but he showed on his last run at Ascot he's even better than that. He seemed to handle faster ground and slower ground last year, so hopefully it will be an exciting year.
"We'll see what happens at Doncaster, but if all goes well he could go to Newmarket for the Abernant Stakes and it would be nice to think he could end up running in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot and the July Cup later in the year.
"If he can just run to the form he showed at Ascot, even without improving, we should have plenty of fun with him."
Ivory has good reason to look forward to the new campaign, with Tropics one of three horses in the yard rated in excess of 100.
Sirius Prospect looked a potential superstar when winning five times as a three-year-old in 2011 and though disappointing the following campaign, he bounced back to claim three races last year, most recently a Listed prize at Kempton in November.
"He's going nicely on the gallops and the plan is for him to run in the mile race at the big all-weather day at Lingfield on Good Friday," said Ivory.
"He's never been to Lingfield, so we'll probably take him there for a day out before he goes there to race and we'll see how he gets on. He was obviously very good as a three-year-old, but he had quite a hard season and I think that probably emptied him for the following year.
"He has come back well, though, and I think seven furlongs or a mile suits him well now. It just gives him a bit more time in his races."
Stablemate Lancelot Du Lac won four races in 2013 and is already rated 103. The Radlett handler said: "He'll probably get an entry in the Cammidge Trophy as well, but I am probably favouring running him in a handicap at Kempton on the same day.
"If all goes well there, he could join Sirius Prospect on the big day at Lingfield and run in the sprint race. If he's as good as I think he is, he should do very well this season.
"For a relatively small yard like ours, to have three horses rated over 100 is great and I can't wait for the season to get started."