Craven Demolition For New Approach's Masar

Charlie Appleby has made his presence felt in a major way this week at Newmarket and 24 hours after Soliloquy (GB) made all under William Buick to capture the G3 Nell Gwyn S. it was deja vu as TDN Rising Star Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) killed off the opposition in dramatic fashion in Thursday's G3 bet365 Craven S. Setting just a steady tempo early, last year's G3 Solario S. winner who started as the 7-2 second favourite had everything in trouble passing three out and from there it was all over as he strode on powerfully for a nine-length dismissal of White Mocha (Lope de Vega {Ire}), with the 8-13 favourite Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy) fading to be third, a head away. “That was a very good performance–he had been showing flashes of brilliance and was always going to be a better 3-year-old than 2-year-old,” Buick said. “He's a lovely mover with a great turn of foot and he just put everything together there.” Appleby, who had gambled with the dirt in Meydan when tackling the Mar. 10 Listed Al Bastakiya with Masar only to see him trail in 10th, was not surprised by the result and added, “I knew he was 100 per-cent ready, as he'd done fantastically well over the winter. It was never my intention to run him in Dubai, but he was going too well and so I wanted to get a bit of gas out of him and put some manners on him. If he had adapted to the dirt, we could have gone UAE Derby and if not it still put a run under his belt and so if this came down to a dogfight fitness was going to be his edge. He quickened twice and has got stronger, but we always said he was going to be a 3-year-old and he's got the pedigree to do that. The Guineas route is foremost in our minds now.”
Understandably, given his G2 Royal Lodge S. win and G1 Racing Post Trophy second accompanied by bullish vibes from Newmarket, Roaring Lion was hot property here and few conceived of defeat as he looked to set up a rematch with Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). If Masar had a patchy record, he was still an unknown quantity and his unbeaten stablemate Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) looked all potential so the Appleby team arrived with an air of quiet confidence. Masar's early conditioning when third in the Listed Chesham S. at Royal Ascot helped him to succeed in Sandown's Solario in September before he came unstuck on testing ground when third in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Chantilly on Arc day. Sixth behind Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) in Del Mar's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in November, he had therefore become something of a forgotten horse particularly as he was beaten out of sight tackling the dirt last month. Even at halfway here supporters of Roaring Lion would have been content as he seemed to be following the chestnut with a degree of comfort, but as Masar applied building pressure the favourite soon cracked and the closing stages were a tour de force rarely seen in this 2000 Guineas prep.
Roaring Lion's trainer John Gosden was far from forlorn and said, “I'm perfectly happy. He was 80 per-cent. He tired in the last furlong. For me, he needs an end-to-end gallop. He does not want a steady one and a dash. He may well go for the Guineas. I'd hope there'd be proper pace all the way. There usually is. It's very different to the trial. I think his strength in the end will be a mile and a quarter at least. He's in the Prix du Jockey Club as well, but the Guineas is still very much an option.” Hugo Palmer said of the runner-up White Mocha, “We'll probably skip the Guineas and go a mile and a quarter next time.”
It is not surprising that Masar was tried on the dirt, as his dam Khawlah (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) was successful in the G2 UAE Derby and G3 UAE Oaks. A half-sister to the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano scorer and G1 Jebel Hatta runner-up Vancouverite (GB) (Dansili {GB}), she is a granddaughter of Melikah (Ire) (Lammtarra) who captured the Listed Pretty Polly S. and placed in the G1 English and Irish Oaks. Her three black-type winners are headed by the G2 Grand Prix de Deauville hero Masterstroke (Monsun {Ger}), who was also third in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, while her G3 Meld S.-winning son Moonlight Magic (GB) shares Cape Cross as a sire with Khawlah. Melikah's dam is the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine and bewildering matriarch Urban Sea (Miswaki), whose Sea the Stars (Ire) is also by Cape Cross. Khawlah's 2-year-old colt by Shamardal unfortunately died this year.

Thursday, Newmarket, Britain
BET365 CRAVEN S.-G3, £60,000, NEW, 4-19, 3yo, c/g, 8fT, 1:38.15, gd.
1–MASAR (IRE), 126, c, 3, by New Approach (Ire)
1st Dam: Khawlah (Ire) (Hwt. 3yo-UAE at 7-9.5f, MGSW-UAE & GSP-Eng, $1,366,175), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Villarrica, by Selkirk
3rd Dam: Melikah (Ire), by Lammtarra
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £34,026. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 7-3-0-2, $157,990. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–White Mocha, 126, c, 3, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Lastroseofsummer (Ire), by Haafhd (GB). (90,000gns Ylg '16 TATOCT). O-Dr Ali Ridha; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Hugo Palmer. £12,900.[bullet ad=”woodford-winning”][bullet ad=”us-bred-ky-bred”]3–Roaring Lion, 126, c, 3, Kitten's Joy–Vionnet, by Street Sense. ($160,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-Qatar Racing Ltd; B-Ran Jan Racing Inc (KY); T-John Gosden. £6,456.[bullet ad=”taylor-made-tm-for-you”][bullet ad=”us-bred-ky-bred-keen-grad”]Margins: 9, HD, 4. Odds: 3.50, 16.00, 0.60.
Also Ran: Glorious Journey (GB), Just Brilliant (Ire), Sir Hamilton (Ire). Scratched: Thunderhooves (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.