Charlie Appleby
Finding his metier again in Friday's G2 Godolphin Stud & Stable Staff Awards Challenge S., Godolphin's Al Suhail (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was able to dominate the seven-furlong test under forcing tactics from William Buick. Last seen winning a three-runner conditions event over this trip at Haydock Sept. 2, the hooded bay who had been third in the G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan Mar. 6 and in the G2 Summer Mile at Ascot July 10 was instantly comfortable allowed to bowl along at the head of affairs. Stretching clear heading down...
Charlie Appleby had pencilled in ParisLongchamp's G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret as an end-of-season target for Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) since 2019, but met with one setback after another at a vital juncture in recent seasons and prior engagements were not fulfilled. Scroll forward to 2021 and the 5-year-old chestnut delivered a performance of sheer brilliance to make up for previous absences and won going away in style at the end of the seven-furlong test. Space Blues's 2020 season was brought to a premature...
Godolphin's Manobo (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) maintained his perfect record when routing his rivals by 10 lengths and more in last month's Listed Prix Turenne at Saint-Cloud and continued on the upgrade with a game performance in Saturday's G2 Qatar Prix Chaudenay at ParisLongchamp, leading home a Charlie Appleby exacta for his fourth straight win. The 7-10 favourite, who had opened up with victories at Newbury and Kempton, employed patient tactics from the outset and lobbed along off a steady tempo in sixth for most of the 15-furlong stamina...
Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features the top lot of the 2019 Goffs November Foal Sale. 13.10 Newmarket, Mdn, £10,000, 2yo, 8fT Godolphin's hitherto unraced AL NAFIR (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}), a Charlie Appleby trainee, topped the sheets when knocked down for €1.2-million at Goffs's 2019 November Foal Sale and is a son...
It takes a lot for a European trainer to become the biggest story in North American racing, but that's exactly what Charlie Appleby has accomplished, among many other things, this year. Capturing three of the four Grade I races at Woodbine plus the Jockey Club Derby at Belmont last weekend to follow up several other successful raids of top-level events in the U.S. this summer, Appleby has quite simply taken the racing world by storm at just 46 years old. Wednesday, during a short break from shopping the Goffs Orby...
Red-hot trainer Charlie Appleby joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to talk on the Arc and the Breeders' Cup, plus his growing dominance in America.
Godolphin 2021 Classic winners Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) both exited their Saturday works in good shape and are pleasing trainer Charlie Appleby in advance of the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 3. A winner of the G1 Cazoo Derby-with his stablemate third-in the spring, Adayar added the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizibeth QIPCO S. on July 24. A setback ruled the bay out of an intended Arc warmup in the G2 Prix Niel on Sept. 12, but he...
Jockey William Buick will ride this year's G1 Cazoo Derby and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Oct. 3 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, should both he and Charlie Appleby stablemate Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) line up at ParisLongchamp. Hurricane Lane finished third in the Derby and has since gone on to win the G1 Irish Derby, G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 St Leger. Both colts will work on Saturday, with Hurricane Lane's Arc status to be...
Day two of Newmarket's Cambridgeshire Festival plays host to five black-type heats with the Unibet-sponsored G2 Rockfel S. and G2 Joel S. sharing top billing on the seven-race card. The former contest's honour roll features a swathe of subsequent Group 1 winners since the turn of the century, headed by Classic heroines Speciosa (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley) and Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}). However, the seven-furlong juvenile fillies' prize has never made its way to Kingsclere, and last month's G3 Sweet Solera S. victrix...
On the heels of a breakout performance from his juvenile filly Hidden Connection (Connect) in Saturday's GIII Pocahontas S. at Churchill, trainer Bret Calhoun joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning to talk about his new barn star, upcoming career milestones, the closure of his old home track Arlington Park this weekend and more. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Calhoun was asked about how Hidden Connection's 9 1/4-length tour de force beneath the Twin Spires compared to his expectations for...
Stepping off a 3 1/2-length Doncaster nursery handicap victory earlier this month, Godolphin's 2-year-old colt Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was in command throughout Thursday's G3 Tattersalls S. at Newmarket and registered another clear-cut success at the expense of Coolmore and Westerberg's French raider Trident (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in his fifth consecutive start at the seven-furlong distance. He had earlier backed up a July 1 debut fifth at Haydock with a July 24 breakthrough score at Newmarket's Summer course and posted an Aug. 8 conditions second to the reopposing...
Andre Fabre has long considered Newmarket to be a happy hunting ground and it is significant that the master of Chantilly is at the old "Headquarters" on Thursday for the G3 Tattersalls S. Thirty years ago, Tertian (Danzig) came for this specific race and duly landed the odds and this time it is Trident (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) who is lined up for the seven-furlong prize representing Messrs Smith, Magnier, Tabor and Westerberg. Runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville Aug. 22, the bay can only improve over this...