Charlie Appleby positive ahead of Derby winner Masar’s shot at gold in the Coral-Eclipse on Saturday at Sandown
Masar clashes with Roaring Lion and Saxon Warrior in the Group 1 that goes off at 2.10pm
CHARLIE Appleby has no issues dropping stable star Masar down to 10 furlongs for the Coral-Eclipse on Saturday.
The Derby winner will take on the impressive Guineas winner Saxon Warrior and old rival Roaring Lion in a high-class field of eight.
Appleby is confident the trip will suit, saying the horse has already displayed plenty of gears through his short career.
The Newmarket trainer told At The Races: "He shows all the right credentials to me to drop back to ten furlongs and he always travels very well through his races.
"He's definitely got a gear change as we saw in the Derby.
"I have no issues at all coming back to ten furlongs."
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Masar had the option to head to the Curragh for the Irish Derby last weekend, but Appleby and Godolphin decided the Group 1 at Sandown was the three-year-old's best route.
He added: "He had an easy time of things after Epsom and in those ten days, that's when we decided the right decision was to head to the Eclipse.
"We worked back from there and Newmarket kindly let us gallop on the racetrack.
"He went through the motions and Brett Doyle was happy with what he felt and I was happy with what I saw."
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Appleby continued: "We saw what he did when winning the Craven Stakes. He set his own fractions that day and quickened up nicely.
"He's gone on to the Guineas, and were probably weren't on the right side of it at all.
"One thing William Buick did say when he got off that day was that he felt he was a ten furlong horse."