Delegator showed enough potential to suggest he could be a fascinating addition to the sprinting ranks with victory in the Duke of York Stakes.
Godolphin’s five-year-old was sent off the 5-1 favourite for the six-furlong (1200m) Group Two, despite spending the majority of his career as a miler.
There was much to admire about his first outing since November as he cut through the field under Frankie Dettori, scoring quite comfortably by half a length.
“We tried to tackle the mile races but he just doesn’t quite get a mile so we decided to try sprinting,” Dettori said.
“There was only one winner all the way and now he’s getting older and stronger I think the sprinting division is going to be his game.”
Royal Ascot will now be on the agenda with Godolphin’s racing manager Simon Crisford revealing a wart had delayed his sprinting career.
“We would like to have started the whole of last season by sprinting but he was held up by a wart on the back of his pastern,” he said.
“It was irritating him and we didn’t get to grips with it early enough and we had to do a minor surgery.
“By the time we did get him racing there weren’t any sprints to run him in and we had the Breeders’ Cup Mile to consider.
“This winter he has been very inactive as well as he has a quarter-crack in his foot in America and his run was a little bit disappointing.
“The farriers have done a great job as they have had to rebuild his foot throughout the whole of the winter.
“He’ll still have entries in all races from six furlongs to a mile, but he’ll go for the Golden Jubilee next.”
He is a best-priced 11-1 with Coral.
PA AAP TURF
