Appleby Bears Fruits of a Labor of Love

APPLEBY BEARS FRUITS OF LABOR OF LOVE 
By Michele MacDonald 
Just like a Dickensian novel, Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby's professional life swirled in lows and highs last year. 
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,” could have been the opening to Appleby's own saga in 2013 rather than to the epic 'A Tale of Two Cities.' 
Out of the ashes of the Godolphin crisis over former trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni's misuse of anabolic steroids, Appleby rose from the stable ranks with the opportunity to condition more than 100 of the world's most superbly-bred runners. From his very first days in the high-profile and high-pressure job, he deflected doubts and put the focus back on winning worldwide, capping the year with a victory by Outstrip (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. 
Now he stands poised with six runners on the Mar. 29 Dubai World Cup program, the richest day of racing on the globe, and he has two chances to win the $10 million G1 Dubai World Cup in Cat O'Mountain (Street Cry {Ire}) andVancouverite (GB) (Dansili {GB}). 
The Dubai World Cup would be a major event for anyone in racing. But for Appleby–who already has devoted 16 years of his life to Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin–stepping into the World Cup spotlight with his own runners will be a monumental occasion. 
“I've been asked several times what it's like to be on the big stage and are there are any nerves,” Appleby said in his soft-spoken, congenial manner. “No, but there is excitement. It will be one of those surreal moments, kind of like it was at Breeders' Cup.” 
“On the day, I'm sure I might feel some butterflies, but I've had such great support from His Highness [Sheikh Mohammed] and the Godolphin team, and they fill you full of confidence coming into these big meets. For any trainer, that's a very lucky position to be in.” 
Appleby does not speak like an ambitious man, but rather as one passionately dedicated to what he does. When asked if obtaining the role as a lead trainer with Godolphin had been his goal or a dream come true, he gently said no. He had been totally pleased with serving as assistant to Saeed bin Suroor, just as he had been happy in his previous posts as a traveling head lad and as a yard manager. 
“I've enjoyed every step in my progression with Godolphin. If you had asked me last year, I would have said I had the best job in the world [as bin Suroor's assistant]; I wouldn't have swapped jobs with anyone,” Appleby said. “I'm a very positive person, and I really enjoyed the role with Saeed and working with such lovely horses.” 
Yet the magnitude of the huge step up that he was offered, and accepted, is not lost on him. He knows that the job is without question one of the most coveted positions in the racing world. 
“The key thing is that, when I was offered this job, to make the very best of it. Sheikh Mohammed said, 'This is your opportunity, so run with it.' That's what we've done and that's we'll keep doing,” Appleby recalled, his voice imbued with emotion. 
Appleby, 38, was born into a life rich with ponies and horses. His parents raised him near Plymouth, England, and he and his sister Victoria rode often during their childhood and watched their mother's purebred Arabians compete in racing. 
At age 12, Appleby became involved with steeplechasers, and he went on to work as an exercise rider, harboring a dream to become a jockey. When he was 16, he took a nine-week British Racing School course in hopes of achieving that goal and he rode in amateur flat races. While his growing height and weight eventually ruled out riding as a profession, Appleby spent several years during what he described as one of the three most important chapters in his career working with trainer Susan Piggott and her husband, legendary jockey Lester Piggott. 
“You can't work for a better tutor than that,” he said, recalling the insights into racing that he gained from the jockey. 
In 1995, Appleby moved on to work as a traveling head lad with trainer David Loder, and in 1998 he became affiliated with Godolphin when Loder became a private trainer of juveniles for the worldwide operation. During that year, Appleby was awed in a way he never has been before or since by one of the horses he worked with, the star-crossed Dubai Millennium (GB) (Seeking the Gold). 
“With his physique and stature, he always stood out amongst the crowd,” Appleby recalled. “He was a big, strong horse, and he knew his strength and would not take fools lightly.” 
Two years after Loder gave Dubai Millennium his early training, the colt won the Dubai World Cup in what is still referred to perhaps as the most scintillating running of the 18 editions of the event. While Dubai Millennium was lost to grass sickness after only one partial season at stud, he left behind his classic-winning son Dubawi (Ire), and Appleby will saddle Dubawi's son Safety Check (Ire) in the $2 million G2 UAE Derby on the World Cup program. 
Appleby worked with Loder in France for two years and spent his first winter season breaking 2-year-olds in Dubai in 2000. In 2002, when Loder switched back to being a public trainer, Appleby remained with Godolphin and began his affiliation with bin Suroor. 
The teamwork and camaraderie they developed in the succeeding years–which were filled with great horses including Dubai World Cup winners Moon Ballad (Ire) (Singspiel {Ire}) in 2003 and Electrocutionist (Red Ransom) in 2006–is a significant asset to both the stable and to Appleby in moving past the Al Zarooni incident. 
“Saeed has been very helpful,” Appleby reflected, “and that's a key part–teamwork. Saeed has two runners in [this year's] Dubai World Cup and I have two runners. In those two minutes, we will be challenging each other to have the winner, but the overall goal is for Godolphin to have the winner. And if I won, Saeed would be the first to congratulate me.” 
In addition to being supported by bin Suroor, Appleby also relied on his own positive nature and the example set by Sheikh Mohammed to get beyond the Al Zarooni crisis and the cloud it cast over Godolphin. 
“It wasn't a very nice time with what we went through,” he said. “But from the time I was granted the license, my only brief was to go on with the job and go forward. Sheikh Mohammed gave me encouragement– 
and look at what he has done. He hasn't built Dubai by looking backward.” 
“You have to be very positive to look forward, and that's what is distilled in me. Never look behind, always look ahead,” he declared. 
Appleby now has about 180 horses in his side of the operation and relies on three key assistants: Marie Murphy, a longtime Godolphin employee; Oliver Costello, who worked with American-based trainer Eoin Harty when they sent out Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed (Tiznow) in 2009, and Daniel Harrop, a former assistant to John Gosden. 
Appleby's new division of Godolphin could not have gotten off to a better start. After he took over training duties at Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket on July 25, 2013, he saddled his first winner three days later, and before the week was done, he had dispatched Cap O'Rushes (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) to capture the G3 Gordon S. at Goodwood. 
“His Highness came down for the race and I'll never forget it,” Appleby said. “That was a lovely way to start.” 
The winners kept coming and “the horses tried hard all summer and they did us proud,” he added. “His Highness kept telling me, 'Keep going, keep going, and we'll get the good horses.'” 
A minor disappointment occurred when the always promising Outstrip finished third in the G1 Dewhurst S. last October. Not long afterward, Appleby answered his phone one day to find Sheikh Mohammed on the line inquiring about the colt's post-race condition–and suggesting the possibility of going on to the Breeders' Cup. 
“The rest is history,” Appleby said with a smile. “The week leading up to the race, the horse did everything he was asked. He ticked every box and grew in confidence. [Jockey Mike Smith] was watching his works and he was getting excited.” 
“If you had asked me while the horses were on the backstretch, however, I wouldn't have been able to tell you he was going to win. But Mike Smith timed his run to perfection. And when he came back, he said, 'I always knew I had them.'” 
“It was a great way to finish the year–and it was a big thank you to the Boss [Sheikh Mohammed] for believing in me and the team. That was our last runner of the season and you couldn't ask for better,” Appleby said. 
Godolphin finished out the season that had begun so gloomily with the steroids controversy by recording 214 winners overall, the most in its storied history, and Appleby added 62 to that total. 
In looking to the immediate future, Appleby said he is hopeful about his Dubai World Cup program runners. 
“The best chance, going strictly by the book, is [G1 Caulfield Guineas and G3 UAE 2000 Guineas winner] Long John (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) in the UAE Derby,” Appleby said. “He's got the perfect credentials going into the race and he's got the class, although there is a question of whether he can stay the distance.” 
“But I like my two horses in the Dubai World Cup, too–Cat O'Mountain likes the [Meydan all-weather] surface and I'm confident he will run a good race. Vancouverite looks like he has come on, and he will really appreciate stepping up to ten furlongs.” 
Appleby's other runners on the World Cup program are, in addition to his second UAE Derby competitor Safety Check, Ahtoug (GB) (Bryon {GB}) in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint and Bello (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. 
Like all horsemen, Appleby draws hope for the future from his young horses, and he said developing 2-year-olds is what he enjoys most. The crop he is working with now–and he has spent much time this winter flying back to England to check on them–is very promising, although he doesn't like to get too specific about which ones give him the most indication they could be special. 
“I'm not superstitious, but I like to let the horses do the talking,” he said. “We train them to turn up on the day and run the best they can.” 
Beyond the potential of the 2-year-olds, 2014 promises to be special in many ways. Not only is it Appleby's first full season as a trainer, but he and his wife, Aisling, will welcome their third child to join 2-year-old twin daughters, Erin and Emily. Appleby shares his love of riding with the girls, and they already have their own pony, Harvey. 
As to racing, he is keen to win more of the world's biggest prizes. 
“Looking forward, most importantly I want to have winners. The main goal I'd like to achieve for Godolphin and His Highness is to win the Derby [at Epsom]–that would be a huge achievement. We're already looking at these 2-year-olds for next year–and we have some very nice ones by Dubawi and New Approach–and hopefully seeing the career of a Derby winner beginning to unfold.” 
He is pointing Outstrip, who has enjoyed a good winter, toward the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and other major Group 1 events at a mile, and he has high hopes for talented filly Certify (Elusive Quality). The Cartier Award winner as a juvenile in 2012, who did not run last year after being administered steroids by Al Zarooni, started off 2014 by winning the G2 Cape Verdi at Meydan. 
But Appleby does not take anything for granted. 
“It is so important to embrace and appreciate what you are dealing with and take the time to take it all in and enjoy it,” he reflected. “Within racing, you have plenty of bad days, so you have to really enjoy the good ones. If you become blase, you'll lose the drive to keep going and you could get stagnant. That's something I've been taught throughout the years. 
“Winning the Breeders' Cup last year just encouraged me to go to the Breeders' Cup again this year and to win more races. And that's what I'm striving to do,” he said.