Fellowes full of hope as Marbaan goes for National Stakes

Charlie Fellowes has his best shot at Group One success to date as Marbaan prepares for the National Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.

The son of Oasis Dream has continually shown his class all season, winning a novice at Nottingham by five lengths in June and then taking another at Salisbury exactly a month later.

At Goodwood in late July the colt stepped up to Group level for the first time in the Vintage Stakes and was victorious at 14-1, beating Chesham Stakes hero Holloway Boy and subsequent Prix Francois Boutin winner Mysterious Night in the process.

The National Stakes was mooted as a next step in the aftermath of the triumph, with the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster another possible for the son of Oasis Dream, together with the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.

Aidan O’Brien’s Little Big Bear, a runaway winner of the Phoenix Stakes, was later precluded from an intended run the National Stakes due to soreness, opening the race up and making the contest a more obvious step for Fellowes’ youngster.

Fellowes said: “He’s very well, he’s been such a straightforward horse to train.

“I gave him a couple of really easy weeks after Goodwood as he had had four runs and was miles ahead of the game.

“I was able to just back off him and luckily he’s got a constitution where you’re able to do that, he doesn’t get too fresh too easily and he put on a nice amount of weight.

“We’ve picked him up with the National Stakes in mind, he’s done everything we could have wanted, his work has been good and he looks a picture so we’re really looking forward to Sunday.”

O’Brien’s Aesop’s Fables is an obvious danger, with Fellowes saying: “I think Aesop’s Fables is a very good horse and I was really impressed with his run in the Futurity.

“It looks like