illiam Buick picked the right partner in the Craven Stakes here on Thursday when he steered Master Of The Seas to a three-quarter length success over stable companion La Barrosa, and he now faces another tricky choice between Master Of The Seas and One Ruler in the 2,000 Guineas on 1 May. If he were to base his decision solely on the latest odds, Buick would surely opt for One Ruler, the runner-up in last season’s Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster and a general 6-1 shot for the Guineas. This year’s race is betting more like a handicap, though, and a price of around 10-1 about Master Of The Seas suggests there may well be very little between the two. Charlie Appleby, who trains all three, suggested as much, having seen Buick time his run ideally after being stuck among horses for much of the race. “Going into a Guineas on the back of what that horse has achieved today, it might be hard for William to get off him, as he has race fitness on his side,” Appleby said. “I’ve been pleased with One Ruler’s preparation as well and if all goes well, he’s on target for the Guineas, so obviously it’s a nice position to be in.” Like Appleby’s Masar, who took the Craven in 2018 and the Derby at Epsom less than two months later, Master Of The Seas was beaten at odds-on in Dubai a few weeks before his return to Newmarket. “Master Of The Seas was the class act in the race,” he said. “I was never disappointed with the run in Meydan as our eye was firmly on a European campaign. He flew through the Dip and [William] said once he hit the rising ground, he picked up well and went through the line strong.” Oxted, last year’s July Cup winner, was surprisingly beaten on his return to action in the Abernant Stakes, a race he won last season when the Group Three contest was staged in early June. Ryan Moore, replacing the injured Cieren Fallon in the saddle, hit the front with over a furlong to run but was swamped by the fast-finishing Summerghand a few strides from the line. The seven-year-old winner is more familiar as a high-class sprint handicapper – this was his first Group-race success – but Roger Teal, Oxted’s trainer, is confident his gelding will return to his best as the summer goes on. “I’m gutted we didn’t win but we can get him back,” Teal said. “We will have a look at Royal Ascot and we might look at the King’s Stand [over five furlongs]. The way he was travelling when he ran [at Ascot] on Champions Day [in October], if it was over five, he would have won.”