Newmarket Thursday

HAVING saddled the first and second in the Feilden Stakes on Tuesday, Charlie Appleby was at it again, as he dominated the Group 3 Craven Stakes.

This time, however, it was William Buick who got the better of friend and rival James Doyle as Master Of The Seas got the better of a battle with La Barrosa after the latter had hit the front briefly around a furlong out.

Khartoum and Devilwala disputed the early running with the former running too free before dropping out to finish last, while the latter led until tackled by the runner-up, but couldn’t confirm the form of his fourth in the Dewhurst last autumn, despite filling the same spot here.

Master Of The Seas and La Barrosa detached themselves from the chasing pack as they raced inside the final furlong, and had third-placed Mystery Smiles three lengths in arrears as they crossed the line, with the verdict going to the 11/4 market leader by three-quarters of a length. The winner was wearing a hood for the first time, incidentally.

This was a better effort from Master Of The Seas after he was beaten by stablemate Naval Crown – runner-up in the Free Handicap – in the Meydan Classic in February.

He was a very impressive winner of the Superlative Stakes here last July before being beaten favourite in the National Stakes, and he was fully confirming that early promise here, and putting himself squarely in the picture for next month’s 2000 Guineas. A mile on fast ground at this track looks tailor-made for him.

The runner-up - who won the Somerville Tattersall Stakes over seven furlongs here in the autumn - travelled just as well, but didn’t see things out quite so strongly having been better positioned, suggesting a sharper mile would suit him better.

Appleby was reluctant to commit to a plan for either of the first two, saying that the key to how they would be deployed would be the way they come out of this contest.

Winning rider Will Buick was impressed by the way his mount quickened twice to win, saying afterwards: “I think Master Of The Seas is a Guineas horse. You only see the very good ones managing to quicken down into the Dip and when they hit the rising ground they go again and that’s what this fellow did.

“When you go back and see his runs as a two-year-old they were full of class. His run in Dubai was a bit of a mess and I’m really glad to get him back on track today.”

Summerghand is too speedy for Oxted in Abernant

WITH July Cup winner Oxted (Roger forTeal/Ryan Moore) unpenalised for his Group 1 victory, he was sent off at 8/13 for the Group 3 Abernant Stakes, but came up short on his return to turf, having to give best to Summerghand (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope), who has travelled much better in his last two races since tried in a visor.

The seven-year-old followed up his win in the All-Weather Sprint Championship at Lingfield, beating Oxted three-quarters of a length to the delight of punters who backed him at 7/1.

Front-runner Emaraty Ana (Kevin Ryan/Andrea Atzeni) was just a head behind Oxted in third, and the fact that the favourite struggled to get by that 104-rated rival suggests that he may have not recovered fully from a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier in the year.

Teal reported that he lost a lot of weight on the return flight from the Middle East, and also felt that losing the services of Cieren Fallon was a negative; his regular rider (who cried off the ride feeling he wasn’t fit enough to do him justice) knows the horse very well, whereas Ryan Moore felt he would have ridden slightly differently in retrospect.

Either way, he’s expected to leave this form well behind next time.

Summerghand has always been a very tough campaigner, but his best efforts have come in big-field handicaps where he has been able to finish well off a strong pace.

In truth, the new headgear has helped him travel more kindly than is sometimes the case (he also wore blinkers for the first time when landing the Stewards’ Cup).

While it’s debatable whether this race took as much winning as it might with Oxted clearly below form, it’s still encouraging that he’s been able to add an extra facet to his game, and further success awaits at the right level.