Tryster leads Godolphin Easter parade to set seal on AW title for Appleby

Tryster showed just how good he is with a sensational victory

William Buick swoops aboard Tryster to win the Easter Classic for Godolphin, who dominated the fixture at Lingfield (Getty Images)

Godolphin’s new star Tryster showed just how good he is with a sensational victory in the Easter Classic, the undisputed highlight of Lingfield’s second All-Weather Championships day yesterday.

Displaying a turn of foot that Kingman, last year’s champion miler, might have been proud of, the 1-2 chance made up six lengths in the short home straight as he accelerated past almost the entire field, finishing off so strongly that his three-quarters of a length victory over Complicit appeared quite cosy in the end.

This was despite the sort of sluggish early pace Tryster’s trainer, Charlie Appleby, feared might be his undoing, as Complicit took the field along at a dawdle before kicking hard on the home bend.

“I must admit, I thought the second had stolen it and our horse had to find an engine, but William [Buick, the winning rider] knew what he was doing,” said Appleby, assured of the all-weather trainers’ title even before yesterday’s success. “It was a fantastic ride. That’s why Godolphin have hired him and James Doyle. They ride with so much confidence.”

Buick, still basking in the warmth of his Dubai World Cup victory aboard Prince Bishop at Meydan last Saturday, was seemingly the least flustered member of the entourage at the debrief.

“I knew it would develop into a sprint, but he has his own running style and you can’t break it,” the jockey explained. “And when it comes to it, he can sprint better than most.”

Tryster has earned a rest now following five straight wins over the past three months, but Appleby is convinced that he will be just as effective on turf, so will be mapping out an exciting summer programme.

Trainer and jockey began their afternoon largely as expected with a smooth success for the favourite Pretend in the Sprint. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a more stress-free win for a trainer, jockey or punter as Buick sat exactly where he wanted, poised on the heels of the leaders, before pressing the button when he was finally good and ready inside the last furlong.

“This is a proper horse, you’ll be seeing a lot more of him through the season” Buick said.

The jockey stresses the togetherness at Godolphin at every opportunity and so there was also much pleasure derived from the success of Lingfield’s top rider Adam Kirby, whose long-honed trackcraft helped him to take the Three-Year-Old Mile aboard Four Seasons, the least fancied of three runners for the team and the middle leg of a treble for Appleby.

There was frustration for favourite backers as first Lamar and then Sovereign Debt failed narrowly to land gambles. A wide draw and tardy start ultimately did for Ryan Moore’s mount Lamar in the opener, albeit only just, as Fresles, trained in France by Pia Brandt, prevailed by a neck.

Later the beneficiary of Sovereign Debt’s nightmare passage, Moore was happy to take any luck that was going on Marco Botti’s Grey Mirage, a horse due some himself at the Surrey venue following a near miss from a wide draw on his last visit.

Godolphin suffered a reverse in the three-year-old sprint when Gay Kelleway’s Lightscameraction showed the benefit of first-time blinkers when wearing down Blue Aegean in the shadow of the post. “He is a serious horse,” Kelleway said. “There are some big three-year-old handicaps or he could have a trip to France.”

In next Saturday’s Grand National, Nick Scholfield is set to partner Spring Heeled for Irish trainer Jim Culloty after schooling the eight-year-old over fences yesterday. The stable also houses the top weight Lord Windermere, last year’s Gold Cup winner.