The much-admired Cicero's Gift by Charlie Hills is back in training, and his handler is optimistic that he can leave his mark at the greatest level.
The son of Muhaarar, who had won his first three starts, made an impression when he scored a hat-trick in a conditions race at Goodwood. This achievement allowed the colt to be considered for the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Although Cicero's Gift finished seventh, the true story of that outing is that he was repeatedly denied passage during the last stages of the Group One contest, which caught his attention.
That was the last time he was seen in the previous season due to a setback that hindered his progress. However, as he gets ready to start his career again at age four, his trainer is optimistic.
Hills said: “He will have his first canter back this week and he’s a horse who had a problem last year so we threw him into a paddock for five months and gave him some time off. Hopefully, fingers crossed, we can get him back on track. We’ll go nice and gentle and keep him off the fast ground. He ran a really nice race in the St James’s Palace last year, he was a bit unlucky in running and I think he can be a Group One horse. It will probably be over a mile, but the stallion is getting them to stay.”