Unbeaten juvenile Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), a winner of the July 11 G2 Superlative S. last out for Godolphin, will target Group 1 races for the foreseeable future, trainer Charlie Appleby revealed. The bay got the job done on debut at Newmarket on June 18 and is now a potential candidate for the G1 National S. in Ireland, the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in France and the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy in the UK according to Appleby.
“Master Of The Seas is having a break,” said Appleby. “We have one eye on the [Sept. 13] National S.–which he would need supplementing for, if we decide to go for that. He also has a pedigree which suggests stepping up in trip will suit him as well, and there are races like the [Oct. 4] Lagardere and Vertem Futurity Trophy [on Oct. 24] we can look at later on.
“He’s very much an autumn-campaign horse, and that is what we have always had on our minds. He has surpassed what we expected him to do pre-autumn. He was a good winner of the Superlative, and the form has been boosted with Richard Hannon’s horse [Ventura Tormenta (Ire) (Acclamation {GB})] winning the [G2 Prix] Robert Papin. The second half of the season is where you will see him towards his best.”
Appleby also had an update on 2019 champion juvenile Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal), who returned to the winner’s circle in the July 12 G1 Prix Jean Prat.
“It’s either going to be the [Sept. 6 G1 Prix du] Moulin or the [Oct. 4 G1 Prix de la] Foret–they are the autumn goals we are looking at for him,” said Appleby. “We have one eye on working back from the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile. If he is going to get it [a mile], the chances are it will be there. We might be tempted to try him back over it in the Moulin, though. He is having a break now–which he deserves, having had three quickish runs.”
Another Appleby/Godolphin runner is the gelding Volkan Star (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who won the G3 Prix du Lys when last seen on July 14.
“He has come out of the race well, and we might take a look at the [Aug. 19] G2 Great Voltigeur for him-or possibly go back to France,” added the trainer. “We gelded him from two to three for a reason, and you could see from his last run he is developing mentally and going the right way.”
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