Ottoman Fleet came from last to first to make an impressive start to his season in the bet365 Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket.
The son of Sea The Stars won twice at Listed level on the Rowley Mile last season and returned as the 6-4 favourite to strike Group Three gold after finishing third three times at the Dubai Carnival.
With one-time Derby hope Reach For The Moon lit up by first-time blinkers in the colours of the King and the Queen Consort, the pace was solid from flag-fall and William Buick was happy to take his time aboard the Charlie Appleby-trained market leader.
Ottoman Fleet
He made smooth inroads to move onto the heels of the pacesetters inside the last couple of furlongs, though, and quickened up smartly on meeting the rising ground to to win comfortably by two lengths. Poker Face, unbeaten in three previous starts, beat Raadobarg to the runner-up spot.
Reach For The Moon weakened quickly following his early exertions and finished last of seven under Frankie Dettori.
Appleby said: “I’ve just had a chat with William and the race was set up for him. This place suits him and for some reason he always brings his A game here. He’s been kept busy during the winter, ran three solid races and just kept bumping into one.
“But we came here confident that he was fit and well, track conditions suited him with a bit of ease in the ground and from halfway I was pretty confident. I know Poker Face is a nice horse and he travelled into it well and I’m sure with experience he’ll progress nicely but once they hit the rising ground, I knew he’d come home strong.
“As for the future, he’ll probably have a break now as he’s been on the go through the winter. He returned from Dubai when we had that warm week here, so it was easier for him to acclimatise.”
