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Superlative win for Native Trail

Two-year-old Oasis Dream colt Native Trail captured the Gr.2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday on only his second start.

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News, 11th July 2021:

It was a case of another Gr.2 Superlative Stakes, another win for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby as Native Trail (Oasis Dream) managed to overhaul Dhabab and hold on from Masekela in a pulsating renewal of the seven-furlong Newmarket juvenile staging post on Saturday.

Looking more of a stayer than the stable's prior three winners of this since 2016 when scoring by four lengths on debut over this trip at Sandown 11th June, the 210,000gns Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up purchase needed excess stamina as he was left adrift of the action when the crunch came. Along with Masekela, the 11-4 second favourite had to come from the group racing up the centre to chase the likely winner Dhabab, who had cut loose under Frankie Dettori towards the far rail inside the final two furlongs. Organising himself on the start of the climb to the line, the bay eventually overhauled that 9-5 favourite close home and got to the post a short head before the surging Masekela. Dhabab, who looked a non-stayer in the final yards, was one-and-a-half lengths behind in third.

"I was very impressed. He's a very imposing horse and I loved him the first time I saw him," winning jockey William Buick commented. "He's a very raw horse, but when he had something to race against he kept finding more. The guys at the yard would know a lot better than me, but what I do know is that he's very good with all his work and you can't throw enough at him. He's just a lovely horse."

Appleby went to the Gr.1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes with his last two winners of this, the Dubawi pair of Quorto and Master of the Seas, and it could be that The Curragh's juvenile highlight is the target for Native Trail.

"It's a bit of a trodden path now that I like to go to Ireland and have a go over there and the ground will suit him," Appleby. "We'll look towards the National Stakes and I think potentially onto something like the [Gr.1] Futurity Trophy or the [Gr.1] Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere after that."

"He was strong at the line and I think we saw that at Sandown really," he added. "He's obviously a nice horse to ride through a race, because he goes through his gears smoothly and we saw that on his first start and I feel we've seen that again today. I won't go as far to say I was confident that we'd win, but the way the race was developing I knew he'd be doing things the right way round and hit the line strong. He was a breeze-up horse, so he will have a bit of experience put to him early doors. He's a very laid-back character though and this was a good achievement today, but I feel when he steps up in trip in time we will see a good bit of improvement again. My only concern coming into today was the quick ground - we know that Oasis
Dreams are better on a sounder surface, but he's a big unit and has some big feet on him so a little bit of ease in the ground won't do him any harm. One of the first things William said when he jumped off him is that he will be a lovely three year old next year."