By Alan Carasso
Twelve months after Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) made light work of the race, Godolphin's Master of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) proved an equally decisive winner of the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick. With the victory, the homebred has earned a fees-paid berth into the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita in early November, a race won last year by Modern Games.
Drawn the inside gate in a field of just six horses, the 2-5 jolly wasn't the best away and settled at the tail of the field as My Sea Cottage (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire})–one of three starters to carry the hot pink colors of Gary Barber–speared through to take up the running after about a furlong. Master of the Seas raced against the rail early on, but came off the fence and into the clear as they hit the turn, and he had improved to fourth while building up a full head of steam as the field reached the long Woodbine straight. Accelerating nicely approaching the final furlong, Master of the Seas let down beautifully to take it by a convincing 3 3/4 lengths. 'TDN Rising Star' Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) just won a photo for second from longshot Lucky Score (Lookin At Lucky).
Narrowly beaten into second by Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas in 2021, Master of the Seas won the G3 Earl of Sefton S. in a single start at four, but has had a more complete season in 2023. The bay wintered in Dubai, winning the G2 Zabeel Mile Jan 20 and was a close third in the G1 Jebel Hatta S. Mar. 4 before finishing well down the field in the G1 Dubai Turf three weeks later. Given plenty of time to regroup, he was exiting a four-length success in the G2 Summer Mile at Ascot July 15.
“He usually breaks pretty fast, for one reason or another he didn't today,” noted Buick. “But there weren't many runners and the pace was even. It's a big, fair track and he's a horse with a turn of foot, so it was kind of my job to navigate a trouble-free passage. He is pretty high maintenance, but everyone at home has done a great job with him. I thought today he was much more the finished article. When he won at Ascot last time, you sort of sensed he was showing his best and getting back to his best form.”
Pedigree Notes:
Master of The Seas is the 56th worldwide Grade I/Group 1 winner for the legendary Dubawi and the 83 G1/GISW produced by a daughter of Danehill.
Master of The Seas is the latest Godolphin/Charlie Appleby success story at Woodbine and is not the first from this family to win on this program. His G3 UAE Oaks-winning half-sister Falls of Lora is not only the dam of Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), a treble Group 1 winner in Australia for James Cummings, but also of Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), impressive winner of the 2021 Summer S.
Firth of Lorne's last listed produce is the 3-year-old filly Sithchean (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), the long odds-on winner of a novice over the Chelmsford all-weather on her lone racetrack appearance to date Mar. 2.
#1 MASTER OF THE SEAS ($2.80) explodes down the stretch to win the $1 million Woodbine Mile (G1). He will earn an automatic spot in the @BreedersCup Mile. Congratulations to trainer Charlie Appleby, owner @Godolphin, & jockey William Buick.
Keep watching on @FanDuelTV pic.twitter.com/gkFFNDExA3
— TVG (@TVG) September 16, 2023
Saturday, Woodbine, Canada
RICOH WOODBINE MILE S.-GI, C$1,022,000, Woodbine, 9-16, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:33.79, gd.
1–MASTER OF THE SEAS (IRE), 124, g, 5, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Firth of Lorne (Ire) (SW & G1SP-Fr, MGSP-USA, $163,189), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Kerrera (Ire), by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Rimosa's Pet (GB), by Petingo (GB)
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Godolphin, LLC (IRE); T-Charles Appleby; J-William Buick. C$600,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW & G1SP-Eng, GSW & G1SP-UAE, 14-7-2-2, $984,457. *1/2 to Latharnach (Iffraaj {GB}), SW & G1SP-Eng, $217,472; Falls of Lora (Ire) (Street Cry {Ire}), GSW-UAE, SW-Eng, $246,417; and Etive (Elusive Quality), SW-Ger, MSP-Fr, $126,693. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Shirl's Speight, 124, h, 6, Speightstown–Perfect Shirl, by Perfect Soul (Ire). 'TDN Rising Star' O-Charles E. Fipke; B-Charles Fipke (KY); T-Roger L. Attfield. C$200,000.
3–Lucky Score, 124, g, 5, Lookin At Lucky–Miss Matzo, by Royal Academy. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($50,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP;
$35,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN). O-Pantofel Stable, LLC, Wachtel Stable and Barber, Gary; B-James Everatt, Janeane Everatt & Arika Everatt-Meeuse (ON); T-Mark E. Casse. C$132,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, NK, 4HF. Odds: 0.40, 4.15, 19.45.
Also Ran: War Bomber (Ire), Ice Chocolat (Brz), My Sea Cottage (Ire). Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuelTV.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
