Naga springs John Musker surprise at Yarmouth Naga sprung a 20-1 shock for John and Thady Gosden under a well-judged ride from Robert Havlin in the Listed EBF Stallions John Musker Fillies’ Stakes at Yarmouth. Despite the presence of better-fancied stablemate Morrophore under Ryan Moore in the same George Strawbridge colours, Havlin always looked confident after bouncing the four-year-old from the gates. Making every post a winning one the pair stayed on strongly under pressure to land the 10 furlongs contest by three quarters of a length from 13-8 favourite Fairy Glen, with 11-1 shot Morrophore a further length away in third. Victory added both black type and considerable value to the filly and with a Listed race now in the bag, Thady Gosden suggested connections may look to further embellish her page with a late season target at the same level or higher. Gosden Considers Future Options “She has done it well and while there is not loads immediately and it is quite tight to the Princess Royal Stakes (Newmarket, September 23), we could keep at a mile and a quarter or perhaps go a mile and a half so there may be options,” he said. “Last time she was a little bit free when he (Havlin) tried to drop her in at Newmarket but she enjoyed going to the front there, pricked her ears and hit the line strong. It was a nice performance. “It is nice to get full black type as she is a smartly bred home-bred of George Strawbridge so that is important. It was a good run from the third Morrophore as well. “It felt like she wanted it a bit too much early on but she finished well and hopefully there is more to come from her.” Naga’s success gave the Clarehaven training team back-to-back victories in the feature event of Yarmouth’s Eastern Festival following the success of Running Lion 12 months ago.
