3 minute read
Charlie Appleby got off the mark at Newmarket's Craven meeting when Ottoman Fleet repeated last year's success in the Earl Of Sefton Stakes.
Having drawn a blank on day one of Newmarket's season opener, Charlie Appleby would have been keen to get one on the board.
The gelded son of Sea The Stars disappointed following his second-place finish in Jebel Hatta at Meydan in January but just as the case twelve months ago, the well-backed 7/4 chance would return to winning ways under William Buick.
Positioned just behind the leaders under a confident-looking William Buick, Charlie Appleby's five-year-old cruised into contention entering the dip and soon put daylight between himself and the field in the closing stages.
Dan and Claire Kubler's stable star Astro King ran on strongly to grab the second spot, but he could only get within a length of the winner, who now looks set for another international voyage according to Godolphin's chief handler.
"He's come back from Dubai a fit horse and he does like this track, so he did have a few positives coming into this race," said Appleby.
"There are a few options for him out in America, so I suppose that is where we will go again.
"He does run well fresh – and I know he has been out in Dubai, but he has had a freshen-up since Super Saturday (at Meydan), so I would imagine he will probably join the team over there.
"He will probably miss the Fort Marcy and I need to go home and have a proper look (when it is), but it might come too quick for him.
"If we were feeling bold enough, we could throw him in at the Manhattan at Saratoga if you wanted to have a crack at a Group 1. That's an extended mile and a quarter but it's an easy mile and a quarter round there, so that might be a race for him."
