Matauri Bay is likely to test his powers at Group One level before the season is out after pushing Field Of Gold close in the Solario Stakes at Sandown on Saturday.
A comfortable winner on his racecourse debut at Leicester, the Lope De Vega colt – who is a brother to Breeders’ Cup winner Aunt Pearl -stepped into Group Three company at the weekend and was clear best of the rest behind John and Thady Gosden’s hot favourite.
The winner appears bound for the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend and while connections of the Ralph Beckett-trained Matauri Bay will consider a rematch in Paris, he also has big-race options on home soil.
Alex Elliott, racing adviser to part-owners Valmont, said: “He ran a very good race. We were a little bit compromised by the draw in the end as we had to sit on the rail, one behind Oisin (Murphy, riding third-placed Royal Playwright) and it’s always very hard to get out from there. We knew that, but we had to kind of ride him that way.
“He ran a bit green when we needed him to kick into gear, but once he got out he motored home. I read that he ran the last two furlongs quicker than the winner and I think Hector (Crouch) was very pleased with everything bar finishing second really.
“We got rated 108 this morning, so it opens a few options moving forward. You’ve got the Futurity Trophy, the Lagardere or the Dewhurst and we’ll probably try to shoot at one of those, I suppose. I wouldn’t be frightened of taking him on again, especially on soft ground, which we think will suit us. It’s nice to have what is looking like a top two-year-old.”
Another Beckett inmate who has carried the Valmont colours with distinction this season is You Got To Me, who claimed Classic glory in the Irish Oaks in July before the runner-up Content reversed the form in last month’s Yorkshire Oaks on the Knavesmire.
Connections have yet to make any concrete plans, but the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot appears her most likely destination at this stage. She’s come out of the race at York OK, but we’re just playing it by ear really,” Elliott added. I’d say the fillies’ and mares’ race on Champions Day is the favourite at the minute.”
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