Melbourne spring Cups hopeful Gatewood has taken another step towards his goal with a close second in the Group Two Grand Prix de Deauville.

Australian syndicate OTI Racing bought into the John Gosden-trained five-year-old earlier this year with a view to the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

Gatewood will join the Sydney stable of Chris Waller after he races in Melbourne this spring.

He needed to finish in the top two at Deauville to raise his rating in the hope he would receive enough weight to get into the Cups and almost pulled off the win, being run down late by Masterstroke from the Godolphin team.

Masterstroke's win capped a big weekend for Sheikh Mohammed after Willing Foe landed the Ebor and Alpha shared victory in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga with Golden Ticket.

Masterstroke, trained by Andre Fabre, is now a 33-1 chance for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.