TIP OF THE DAY
SHENANIGANS 4.05 AYR
was sent off the 3/1 favourite that day but could not handle the rain-softened ground and was well beaten.
Last year’s winner Magic Circle, trained by Ian Williams, returns on the back of a pleasing comeback when third in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester. Sir Michael Stoute’s Mekong and Fearsome, from Nick Littmoden’s stable, complete the sextet.
‘No taking anything away from Stradivarius at York, over what probably wasn’t his optimum trip, but Dee Ex Bee has clearly got the background form,’ Johnston said. ‘He was a Group One-class three-year-old and that’s exactly what you’re looking for. It’s more likely to be a horse like him that’s going to challenge the older horses than an exposed stayer.
‘Your dream stayer is a horse like Dee Ex Bee, who was placed in the Leger.’
Meanwhile, Johnston has a leading contender in Matterhorn after six were declared for tomorrow’s Matchbook Brigadier Gerard Stakes, also at Sandown.