David Of Athens

His one career win came at Jebel Ali back in January 2026, and it remains the defining moment of his profile to date. Jebel Ali is a tight, quirky track in Dubai where horses either take to the configuration or don't — winning there suggests a degree of adaptability and racecourse savvy that not every young horse possesses. The fact that it was his only win from four attempts (a 25% win rate, or roughly 1 in every 4 races) tells you he has not been disgracing himself in defeat either, with a placed finish also on the board.

His recent form reads 13-1-4-6 in reverse order, meaning his last run produced a 13th-place finish — a sharp step backwards from that Jebel Ali success. That kind of result after a win can happen for all sorts of reasons: a tougher field, a bad draw, unsuitable conditions on the day. It is a blip to watch rather than a conclusion to draw.

He is trained by Hamad Al Jehani, whose yard at Newmarket has sent out 18 winners this season — a healthy tally that suggests an operation in decent form. Newmarket is the heartbeat of British racing, home to some of the most serious training setups in the world, and being part of that environment tends to mean horses are prepared thoroughly and placed thoughtfully. The team clearly know their horse, and with David of Athens racing as recently as yesterday, he is very much an active project rather than a historical curiosity.

At four years old, he is at the age where horses often take their biggest step forward. He has shown he can win, he has shown he can place, and he has a trainer with the winners on the board to suggest there is a plan in place. The next few races will tell a lot more of the story.