Godolphin’s Native Trail underlined his status as a classic candidate after stretching his unbeaten record to four in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
The Oasis Dream colt, under William Buick, came clear from Dubawi Legend and Bayside Boy by two lengths and two and-a-half lengths respectively to complete back-to-back Group 1 victories.
Buick struggled for racing room two furlongs from home but switched right and asserted his superiority in the final 110 yards to raise his profile for the 2000 Guineas next year.
“He's a gorgeous horse with so much ability,” Buick said. “It was a messy race and tactically it was hard to get a handle on it but when I asked him to go on the straight he hit the rising ground really well. He's a big horse and he could be absolutely anything.”
Native Trail was completing a hat-trick for the Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby after Goldspur under James Doyle and Coroebus with Buick atop bagged the Group 3 Flying Zetland and the Group 2 Autumn Stakes at the same meeting.
“Native Trail was the standout in the paddock and its full credit to the team at home,” Appleby said after notching up his 13th Group or Grade 1 success of the season.
“If Native Trail had not won the National Stakes in similar style, you would probably be getting a bit twitchy when he was under the pump at halfway. Knowing how this horse is, I was comfortable because he wasn’t doing a stroke; he was just going through the motions.
“I was confident that, once William moved him out and he got enough daylight on the rising ground, the one thing Native Trail wasn’t going to do was stop galloping.”
It was also Godolphin’s 20th Group 1 prize for the year after Anamoe bagged the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas earlier in the day to emerge as Australia's leading three year old colt.
Given every chance from his wide gate by his rider Damien Oliver, Anamoe travelled smoothly in midfield before moving forward to win from Captivant by a half-length.
“He’s always been in the mould of a colt who would relish the mile of today’s race,” said assistant trainer Sean Keogh, who saddled Anamoe for trainer James Cummings.
“He’s such a rare animal, a champion two year old who is now the top three year old.”
