Claremont felt the benefit of a first-time visor as he led home a Godolphin one-two in the Aston Park Stakes yesterday. Trained by Mahmood al Zarooni and partnered by William Buick, Claremont was the perceived second choice of the two Godolphin runners, with Saeed bin Suroor's Sabotage sent off as the favourite. However, Buick rode a canny race on the four-year-old, sticking to the rail as Bergo and Centennial cut an early dash.
Buick was perfectly positioned at the top of the straight, though, kicking on two furlongs out as Sabotage tried to get going . Claremont responded well for for Buick and while Sabotage was battling to hold on to second, the winner came home a length and a quarter clear. Petara Bay, off the track for 594 days, ran a cracker but failed to bag the runner-up spot by a neck. Meanwhile, Awzaan, Sheikh Hamdan's colt who disappointed at Newmarket in the 2,000 Guineas, is unlikely to be seen until the second half of the season.
The Middle Park winner was never going at Newmarket and finished 15th of 19 runners. The horse was later diagnosed with a bacterial infection. However, Royal Ascot may come too soon. His trainer, Mark Johnston, said: "I would actually think it would be longer than that before you saw him back." * PA
