Mysterious Night takes Newmarket test in Craven

More than one Appleby star has shone in key Guineas trial at HQ.

The bet365 Craven Stakes has proved something of a Charlie Appleby benefit in recent years and Mysterious Night is the colt entrusted with enhancing the fine record of Moulton Paddocks in the race this time around.

The champion trainer has won three of the last four runnings of this flagship Qipco 2000 Guineas trial, landing the spoils in 2018 with subsequent Derby hero Masar and also sending out Classic winner Native Trail to score 12 months ago.

Mysterious Night was set to be joined in the line-up by stablemate Naval Power, but Appleby revealed on Wednesday morning he will be rerouted to the Dante having become cast in his box.

Nevertheless the sole Godolphin representative is well worth his place as paper favourite having tasted big-race success both in Deauville and Woodbine last year and Appleby is keen to see how the son of Dark Angel handles the undulations of the Rowley Mile.

He said: “He has already won at Grade One level in Canada. He’s a horse that has strengthened and done very well for the winter.

“The track (at Newmarket) will be interesting for him as he’s got a great big stride on him and my only concern would be how he handles it. That is why we are running him in the Craven to test his mettle there.”

The Foxes saw the form of his course and distance Royal Lodge victory boosted by the runner-up Dubai Mile in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud and could add his card to the strong hand Andrew Balding has to play in the Classics this term.

John and Thady Gosden’s Mostabshir created a deep impression with a four-length debut victory at Kempton and is pitched straight into a Guineas trial for his second start.

“He won his only start nicely and now we’re dropping him in the deep end a bit with only one run under his belt,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for Mostabshir’s owners Shadwell.

“They’ve all been happy with him at home so with the season starting we need to know where we are with him.

“He’s still entered in the Guineas and I’m imagining that will come too quick for him, but let’s see how we get on Thursday.

“He’s the least experienced in the field and it will tell us a lot more in terms of his class and the track and all those things. It’s a learning curve.”

Indestructible found himself bumping into the Balding-trained Chaldean throughout his two-year-old career with Michael O’Callaghan, but those placed efforts in the Acomb Stakes and Champagne Stakes give connections plenty to get excited about ahead of his first start for new handler Karl Burke.

“His pedigree suggests he will get a mile and he got seven furlongs well last year as a two-year-old,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for owners Amo Racing.

Indestructible (centre) finishing second to Chaldean in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster
Indestructible (centre) finishing second to Chaldean in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster (Tim Goode/PA)

“The form is there. He has to make the improvement from two to three, but he definitely has the scope to do that and the form is in the book so he will be a nice three-year-old going forward hopefully.”

Meanwhile, Clive Cox has elected to give Horris Hill third Ancestral Land a sighter of the Rowley Mile rather than return to Newbury for the Greenham Stakes on Saturday.

He said: “We have chosen to go this route and it will be nice to give him an opportunity to run at the track. He is a horse we hold in high enough regard and it is a very nice starting point which will help form our plans from here.

“His whole demeanour gives us the impression he will get a mile and we hope that will be possible. I trained his dam to win over five furlongs, but he is a horse that has done exceptionally well physically and he hit the line well over seven last year. He is a horse that gives us the impression a mile is definitely within his compass.”

Roger Teal’s Dancing Magic and Hughie Morrison’s Mr Mistoffelees complete the seven-strong field.

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