Masar looks a certainty to return to winning ways at Newmarket

It will be a major surprise if Masar cannot return to winning ways in the Princess Of Wales’s Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket.

The four-year-old made Godolphin history when he became the first winner of the Derby in the famous royal blue silks last year, but a subsequent injury saw him ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

Charlie Appleby took his time with a recovery plan, and Masar did not reappear until contesting the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.

However, his luck again deserted him as he stumbled coming out of the stalls, conceding valuable ground.

James Doyle was left facing an uphill battle from there on in because he had to race wide.

Masar did not quite have the depths of reserves to take a hand in the finish, but he kept on admirably for a near fivelength fifth, and you would expect him to have taken a big step forward from that first run in over a year.

Appleby is clearly eager to take measured steps in his return, and the conditions of Thursday’s Group Two put him in prime position.

Eagles By Day should appreciate the step up to a mile and five furlongs in the Bahrain Trophy Stakes.

A son of Sea The Stars, his dam Missunited was a staying star – finishing second in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, as well as winning a Galway Hurdle during her racing days.

Eagles By Day perhaps does not have quite those levels of stamina, but he looked sure to be suited by a switch up in trip when finishing with a flourish to claim third in the King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot.

Having previously flopped on soft ground in the Lingfield Derby Trial, Eagles By Day clearly relishes a sound surface, so the hope is Newmarket will stay on the quicker side.