Charlie Appleby’s Ottoman Fleet landed the bet365 Earl Of Sefton Stakes for the second successive year at Newmarket.

The five-year-old was race-fit, having had three runs at Meydan in Dubai, and having won this race 12 months ago, had been racing with credit at a high level in America.

A consistent performer, he falls just short of the top class but in Group Three company, he is a force to be reckoned with.

Having travelled smoothly into contention two furlongs from home for William Buick, he soon took two lengths out of the field and the race was over in a matter of strides.

While he began to get tired late on and Astro King, the Cambridgeshire winner, closed to within a length, the 7-4 favourite was never in any danger.

The disappointment of the race was Roger Varian’s Embesto, who finished a well beaten fifth.

“He’s come back from Dubai a fit horse and he does like this track, so he did have a few positives coming into this race,” said Appleby.

“We thought there was going to be more pace in there and Will was slightly concerned, as there is not much coming from off the pace really, from what we have seen in the last sort of 24 hours.

“He said he jumped well enough and just sat up the backside of Ryan Moore (on Regal Reality) and was always confident he was going to get the job done.

“He’s been a very consistent horse for us and has been out in Dubai and running consistently well. His last race, he was a bit disappointing but I think he was just getting the hang of Meydan again.

“He has always run well here and old Kieren Fallon rides him at home and said he was as well as he’s ever felt him, so we came up here confident he was in good order and we know the track suits him.

“Master Of The Seas is a proper Group One miler, whereas if you run this lad in a Group One mile race, he would run well but wouldn’t be good enough to win one.

“There is a huge difference between those proper milers, but there are a few options for him out in America, so I suppose that is where we will go again.

“He does run well fresh – and I know he has been out in Dubai, but he has had a freshen-up since Super Saturday (at Meydan), so I would imagine he will probably join the team over there.

“He will probably miss the Fort Marcy and I need to go home and have a proper look (when it is), but it might come too quick for him.

“If we were feeling bold enough, we could throw him in at the Manhattan at Saratoga if you wanted to have a crack at a Group One. That’s an extended mile and a quarter but it’s an easy mile and a quarter round there, so that might be a race for him.”