Having overcome a bad infection last year, Alexios Komnenos confirmed his juvenile promise and followed up his Listed Celebration Stakes-third last month with victory in last night’s Gr.3 Desmond Stakes at Leopardstown. The lightly-raced three-year-old won on debut last year and then was a neck second to dual Classic winner Churchill in the Gr.3 Tyros Stakes on his only other start as a two-year-old.

The son of Choisir was ridden to victory by jockey Chris Hayes who sent him to the front inside the final furlong. The pair held on for a length and a half win over Music Box.

“It’s amazing, with what he’s been through, to even be here today and a big thanks goes to the staff at home and every vet in O’Byrne and Halleys. It’s a wonder he’s here at all as they gave him a 10 percent chance of racing again.

“He had an infection in his hind suspensory and they had to split his suspensory to wash it out and get the infection out; they even flew special maggots over from England to fight the infection.” said Fozzy Stack after the race.

He added “It was just an infection and it must have been something going around his system. There wasn’t a cut or a mark or anything and it happened just a week or ten days before the National Stakes last year.

“You try to keep suspensorys together never mind splitting them; when you scan it it’s still not pretty, it’s a mush. He was six months doing nothing and it’s only his fourth run.

“He probably doesn’t kill himself when he gets to the front and hopefully he’ll improve. If he’s still in one piece in a few weeks’ time he’ll come back for the Group 2 Boomerang Stakes and we’ll leave him at a mile for the minute. The dream lives on a bit longer.”