NEWBURY

NEW rain reached Newbury well before the start of Saturday’s programme and the going was officially soft. It suited John Gosden’s Kessaar, who won the Group 2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes in style, finishing strongly to account for True Mason by nearly three lengths with Shine So Bright third.

It has been an exceptional year for Karl Burke and his highly-regarded runner-up True Mason looked like adding to stable gains here as they approached the final furlong. It was a stern test, however, and Kessaar, a son of Kodiac, swept past and won convincingly for Frankie Dettori.

“The second is a lovely horse but this guy handled the ground,” Gosden said. “He won a Group 3 at Kempton last time and a Group 2 this time so we’ll have to go for a Group 1 next.

The Criterium International at Saint-Cloud used to be a mile but they dropped it to seven, so we’re all going to Paris.”

LUPTON TOO GOOD

Richard Fahey’s Mr Lupton has been taking on the best sprinters this term and kept on well to deny the front-running Take Cover in the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy over five furlongs.

Both had run well in the Nunthorpe at York, after which Take Cover was too fast for his old rival in the Beverley Bullet. However, that was on fast ground and Mr Lupton was made 11/4 favourite to turn things around on this very different surface. He reached Take Cover passing the furlong pole and went on to score in the hands of Gerald Mosse by three-parts of a length.

Take Cover, a most consistent sprinter, lost nothing in defeat. Now 11, he has run his last race and will be retired, owner Andrew Hollis pointing out that he has half-brothers and half-sisters capable of following in his hoofprints.