Ottoman Fleet makes his stateside debut a winning one and does so impressively (NYRA/Coglianese)
Warren Point Breezes for G1 Man o’ War
NYRA Press Office
ELMONT, N.Y.— Godolphin’s Ottoman Fleet, trained by Charlie Appleby and expertly piloted by Richie Mullen, saved ground before shooting up the rail at the top of the lane to post a 1 3/4-length score in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy, a nine-furlong inner turf test for older horses, at Belmont Park.
The 4-year-old Sea the Stars gelding registered a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for the eye-catching score in his North American debut, overtaking the longshot pacesetter Tide of the Sea on the turn for home and completing the course in a final time of 1:47.25 over the firm footing.
“It was a really nice effort,” said Chris Connett, Appleby’s traveling assistant. “The team back home thinks he’s that kind of horse and for him to put it to bed as quickly as he did was quite impressive when he shot through the gap there. Hopefully, that bodes well for the rest of the summer.”
Bred in Great Britain by SCEA Marmion Vauville and Alain Jathiere, Ottoman Fleet entered from a last-to-first score in the Group 3 Earl of Sefton on April 18 at Newmarket, which came on the heels of a trio of third-place finishes in group races at Meydan Racecourse.
Ottoman Fleet will now enjoy the week in New York as the Appleby team prepares Godolphin’s Warren Point for a start in next Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Man o’ War, an 11-furlong turf marathon for older horses.
“We’re very pleased with him,” said Connett of the improving Ottoman Fleet. “He ate up last night and came out and had a walk and a pick of grass this morning. He’ll get back out to the track tomorrow.”
Warren Point, a 4-year-old British homebred by Dubawi, breezed five-eighths solo in 1:00.88 Sunday with Mullen up over the Belmont inner turf.
“He just had an easy canter from the six to the five and then he had what we’d call a building piece of work and finished off really nicely down the lane,” Connett said. “That will be his last major piece of work before next Saturday.”
A four-time winner from seven starts, Warren Point captured the HH Royal Crown Prince Cup on February 3 in Bahrain to kick off his campaign and followed two weeks later with a close runner-up effort to Russian Emperor in the Group 1 HH The Amir Trophy in Doha.
Frankie Dettori will have the call in the Man o’ War.
