Skellet scoops Listed honours at Sandown

Skellet came with a strong late run to wear down Checkandchallenge in the Listed Pequod 20 Years Of Seaworthiness Fortune Stakes at Sandown.

Having started her campaign with tough assignments in the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes, Ralph Beckett’s filly had narrowly failed to land a Group Three triumph on her last outing at Chantilly back in mid-July.

On that occasion, the daughter of Kingsman was collared close home by Blush over nine furlongs.

This time, with Hector Crouch taking over from Rossa Ryan in the saddle, she appreciated dropping back down to a mile and finished off well to win by a neck at 100-30.

“Ralph was satisfied with her all year, he just didn’t feel she was glowing but I just sensed in the last few weeks she was really coming forward and was in a good place after her break,” said Barry Mahon, of owners Juddmonte.

“She showed today that she remains a filly with potential.

“Whether she remains in training or not, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s a filly that could progress a bit more at four. She’s a big filly, very angular and I think there’s a little bit more to come.

“She likes cut in the ground, she ran in France the last day and ran well so we know she handles the travelling so it would be no surprise if there was something back out there for her.

“Off the top of my head I couldn’t nominate a race – I’m sure there’ll be one and we’ll probably get another run out of her before making plans.”

The Juddmonte colours were also seen to quite some effect by Cosmic Year, who created a serious impression when romping home by six and a half lengths on his racecourse debut.

Harry Charlton’s two-year-old is certainly bred for the job, being by Kingman out of Group One-winning mare Passage Of Time, who has already produced Time Test and Tempus.

Oisin Murphy was content to sit in behind odds-on favourite Rock d’Oro early on in the Sir Michael Stoute – Farewell And Thank You Novice Stakes, but made a forward move between the final two furlongs and ultimately quickened clear for an eyecatching triumph at 5-2.

Murphy told Racing TV: “He’s a lovely horse and he behaved really well. I had one sit on him before today and he’s probably done well physically and for the experience and everything else since.

“He feels like a horse that could go seven (furlongs) again on his next start, whether that be this year or next year, but it was just lovely to get on him today.”

Charlton added: “It looked like they hacked round but he picked up well and, more importantly, I thought he behaved beautifully. He did everything well.

“It will be up to Juddmonte what they want to do next and see if they can juggle what I think is 28 two-year-old winners they’ve now had, as I think they are probably struggling to fit them into all the stakes races for the rest of the year.

“He went to run at Newbury about a month ago and we took him out because the ground was very quick, but he actually lost quite a bit of weight going to the races, so I didn’t want to rush him back too quick.

“Having not had a run, it was quite hard to enter him in the big races.”

Prince Of The Seas confirmed the promise of his debut second at Kempton when justifying 5-4 favouritism in the Orbital Veterinary Services EBF Maiden Stakes.

The Beckett-trained juvenile got the better of main market rival Wild Nature after a decent battle between that pair and stayed on strongly enough to score by a length and a half from the fast-finishing Sword Of Wessex.

Crouch said: “He’s going to be a lovely staying prospect next year. He’d probably get a mile and a quarter now and he’s definitely going to be one for those mile-and-a-half staying handicaps.”