As a two-year-old colt Dothraki had a reputation he found hard to live up to but as a recently gelded four-year-old he may have found his way.
Under 60kg at Rosehill on Saturday, Dothraki ($4) won the 1100m benchmark 95, producing a final sprint that belied his topweight to beat Goldstone ($31) by a length.
Dothraki
The winner of his second start, Dothraki was placed in two Golden Slipper lead-up races before finishing last in the main event in 2013.
Trainer Gerald Ryan admitted he had been frustrated at times by Dothraki. Although he had won three races going into Saturday, there were others that got away.
“He does things in trackwork that other horses don’t do,” Ryan said.
“But he hasn’t been able to put it together on race day. He has been gelded this preparation and that has made a big difference.
“I think he could be an Oakleigh Plate horse in the autumn.”
Before the Group One Oakleigh Plate there are a few other races the trainer has in mind.
“His next start will be the Starlight Stakes and then we can look at races like the George Moore in Brisbane or the Razor Sharp here,” he said.
“He needs to be held up and then given one run at them as he was today.
“He can let down better than most horses and Blake (Shinn) rode him perfectly.”
