bet365 Craven Stakes
 AutoUpdating 150x150 Gif
Group 3, Newmarket 15:35
£85,000 guaranteed,
3yo only, 1m, Class 1   
Wednesday 16th April 2025

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Charlie Appleby is no stranger to success in the bet365 Craven Stakes, and the Moulton Paddocks trainer could field a four-strong team as he aims to enhance an already impressive record in Wednesday’s 2000 Guineas trial at Newmarket.

Having landed three of the last six runnings—most memorably with Masar in 2018 en route to Derby glory, followed by near-misses in the Guineas itself for Master Of The Seas (2021) and Native Trail (2022)—Appleby once again appears to hold a strong hand.

Topping the list is Aomori City, whose juvenile campaign reads well in any company. A Group Two winner in the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood, he backed that up with creditable efforts in both the National Stakes at the Curragh and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, bringing a touch of top-tier substance to the Craven field.

Opera Ballo, by contrast, arrives as the unknown quantity. Yet to set foot on turf, the Dubawi colt impressed in two stylish all-weather victories at Kempton—form which echoes last year’s Craven absentee Notable Speech, who used similar stepping stones on the way to 2000 Guineas success.

But it won’t be all about the Godolphin blue. The highest-rated entry in the current field is James Owen’s Wimbledon Hawkeye, who announced himself with a Royal Lodge win and a strong third in the Futurity Trophy. With proven form at the Rowley Mile and a touch of grit to match his class, he looks a genuine benchmark.

Andrew Balding’s New Century is another with proven form at a high level, having beaten Al Qudra in a Canadian Grade One before finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. On paper, his international experience adds real intrigue to the mix.

Juddmonte’s Field Of Gold, trained by John and Thady Gosden, adds further depth. A polished winner of the Solario Stakes at Sandown last August, he was far from disgraced in fourth at ParisLongchamp on Arc weekend in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère.

“He’s on course for the Craven,” confirmed Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon. “We’d just like a bit of ease in the ground. I’m told there’s rain forecast early next week, so we’ll see how it develops, but the intention is to run.”

Among the more intriguing subplots is a potential rematch between Field Of Gold and Matauri Bay, who was second in the Solario but failed to fire on his final two-year-old start in the Criterium International.

“It was a bit of a fiasco at Calais getting over to France, and he never settled,” explained Alex Elliott, racing adviser to part-owners Valmont. “We’ve put a line through that. He looked a very nice horse on his first two starts and we’re hoping for a good season.”

Benevento won the Betfred Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster in September for his Brazilian jockey-turned-trainer Raphael Freire, before finishing a disappointing fourth behind Make Me Smile in the Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury in October, albeit in heavy ground.

Hugo Palmer’s The Waco Kid, Group Three-placed at two, is another worthy of respect. The unbeaten The Watcher (Karl Burke) rounds out a field of 9 packed with promise and possibility.

SureWIn

bet365 Craven Stakes
£85,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 1m, Class 1
9 runners
Going: Good to Soft

NO. (DRAW) FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 (4) 13143- Aomori City 3 9-2 Charlie Appleby William Buick
2 (5) 1214- Benevento 3 9-2 Raphael E Freire David Egan
3 (6) 3114- Field Of Gold 3 9-2 John & Thady Gosden Kieran Shoemark
4 (9) 126- Matauri Bay 3 9-2 Ralph Beckett Hector Crouch
5 (2) 12114- New Century 3 9-2 Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy
6 (3) 11 Opera Ballo 3 9-2 Charlie Appleby James Doyle
7 (8) 54310- The Waco Kid 3 9-2 Hugo Palmer Tom Marquand
8 (7) 1-1 The Watcher 3 9-2 K R Burke Clifford Lee
9 (1) 13213- Wimbledon Hawkeye 3 9-2 James Owen Harry Davies

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