Godolphin trainer talks about a host of established G1 performers ready for the Spa, including Breeders’ Cup winners Rebel’s Romance, Master Of The Seas and Mischief Magic, plus recent Saratoga G1 scorer Measured Time and the revitalised route runner Silver Knott
Charlie Appleby sends Legend Of Time and Cinderella’s Dream to the big Belmont Invitational meeting at Aqueduct at the weekend, as his love affair with American racing takes on a new dimension.
Appleby, who currently stands at #2 on the latest TRC Global Rankings for trainers behind Aidan O’Brien, has established an 18-strong satellite stable at Godolphin’s historic Greentree barn in Saratoga. The latest additions left Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket this week – and with seven US winners already in 2024 (all of them in graded stakes), Appleby is clearly a force to be reckoned with.
The dual British champion trainer says that globetrotting star Rebel’s Romance is an intended runner in Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 27, en route to a crack at the G1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga on August 24 and possible engagements at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in November and Hong Kong in December.
However, he stresses every attempt will be made to avoid Rebel’s Romance clashing with his younger half-brother Measured Time, who has the Arlington Million at Colonial Downs on August 10 as his immediate objective.
“There’s such a lovely turf program in the US,” Appleby says. “We thank American racing for embracing us, and I hope we are bringing something to the sport there with our commitment. Everywhere we go, people are very helpful, and we are very grateful for that.”
Appleby says he is fortunate to have the backing to take his horses to other countries to explore the best opportunities. “I would rather be winning Graded races in the US or a G1 in Hong Kong than running in the minor placings at Royal Ascot, which is where several of ours might have finished,” he explains.
“It is about placing the horses to best advantage,” Appleby goes on. “Godolphin was set up as a global stable by Sheikh Mohammed. It’s a brand, and it’s all about Dubai. Most of these horses [at Greentree] have wintered in Dubai, and when they carry the royal blue colours they are representing Dubai.”
There are no plans for any of his US squad to transfer from turf to dirt. “Firstly, they don’t have dirt pedigrees, and secondly, they would have to change their style of training, and we have no intention of doing that,” he says.
“When choosing our horses for America, we ask ourselves whether they are the type to adapt to US-style training and racing – can they cope with 100 horses going around them at different speeds on the main track in the mornings? They also need to like predominantly quick ground and possess tactical speed.”
Here, Appleby conducts a tour of his Greentree barn, discussing plans for his more established runners for the remainder of the year Stateside. Interview by JA McGrath
Charlie Appleby on his US string
Bold Act
4g New Approach - Dancing Sands
He has hit the board in the US but has been a little frustrating, as his running style is not anatural American running style. He can be a little keen over a mile and a half. His last run [third in a black-type event at Churchill Downs] was probably his best because he did it the right way around, coming home late. We had considered something like the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, but I think he could be one for the $2m G2 Kentucky Downs Turf Cup [Sep 7].
Cinderella’s Dream
3f Shamardal - Espadrille
She won the Jumeirah 1,000 Guineas at Meydan and came back to Britain to run a solid race [seventh] in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. From that point on we thought her future lay in the US and she runs on Saturday in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational at Aqueduct, and we are confident she will see out the mile and three-sixteenths. Her dam is out of a staying mare [High Heeled] so there is stamina there.
Legend Of Time
3c Sea The Stars - Kissable
A progressive horse who won three times in Dubai, and I take the blame for his disappointing first run in America. We took him to Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day, and for a three-year-old having its first experience of US racing it was the wrong place to be. The whole occasion just got to him.
I’m a believer that horses, just like anybody involved in competitive sport, have to know what to do when they get beaten. You have to pick yourself up, and he has shown signs of that, so there are positives to take out of it.
That toughened him up and next time out he won the G2 Pennine Ridge over nine furlongs at Aqueduct. I think he will be suited by the mile and three-sixteenths of the G1 Belmont Derby Invitational back there on Saturday, and he goes there with plenty of experience under his belt.
Master Of The Seas
6g Dubawi - Firth Of Lorne
A real star – a Breeders’ Cup winner, a Woodbine Mile winner, a Maker’s Mark Mile winner. He’s run solidly every time he’s been to America. The G1 Fourstardave over a mile at Saratoga [Aug 10] is our aim with him, working back from the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
He thrives in the States but the Fourstardave will be tough enough for him – it’s a handicap and he will be running off top weight – although it is a condensed handicap, with a great history to it. It’s a race we have looked at the last two years but just didn’t have the right horse for it. Hopefully we have the right material this year, as apart from him we also have Naval Power and Ottoman Fleet in the squad for the race.
Measured Time
4c Frankel - Minidress
This half-brother to Rebel’s Romance is a potential star as well, and he is already upholding the family name. We were delighted with his win in the G1 Manhattan at Saratoga last month, and we feel he can progress again when he steps back up to a mile and a half.
We’ll consider the option of running him in the Arlington Million over a mile and a quarter, or hang fire and look at the G1 Sword Dancer, but I wouldn’t want to run him and Rebel’s Romance together. One of them will turn up, and depending on what Rebel’s Romance does between now and then, we will decide what Measured Time will do.
It would be ideal for Measured Time to have a crack at the Sword Dancer to see if he gets the mile and a half there, and if he does we can work back from the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Mischief Magic
4g Exceed And Excel - Veil Of Silence
He had a bad draw out wide when fifth in the G1 Jaipur at Saratoga last time, and it was always going to be a tough test for him. Now he will head to the G2 Troy over 5½ furlongs back at Saratoga [Aug 3] and we hope for a better post position.
This horse is a character and he will probably win when we are least expecting it. You’ve got to ride him for all the luck in the world and for that reason he’s a bit of a jockey’s nightmare. He likes to get covered up, and in a sprint you either get the gaps or you don’t. We’ll work back from the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
Mysterious Night
4g Dark Angel - Mistrusting
He did it the wrong way round in the G2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga last August, so that wasn’t the best experience for him, but he ran a great race last time in the G3 Poker back at the Spa, showing that he’s back on track now. A mile is his best trip and he’ll go for the G3 Kelso at Saratoga next Saturday [July 13], while he also has the right profile for the $2m G3 Mint Millions at Kentucky Downs [Sep 7].
Nations Pride
5h Teofilo - Important Time
He has been running well, third in the G2 Man o’War at Aqueduct over a mile and three-eighths before putting up a very good performance to be runner-up in the G1 Manhattan behind Measured Time over a furlong and a half shorter. He has plenty of options now, and we will look towards the Arlington Million at Colonial Downs [Aug 10] and later on the Kentucky Downs Turf Cup over a mile and a half, or maybe the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct.
Naval Power
4g Teofilo - Emirates Rewards
We have always thought very highly of him and he has run two solid races in America – second behind Master Of The Seas in the G1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland and then, stepped up to nine furlongs, runner-up again in the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day, beaten a head.
He is a candidate for the G1 Fourstardave at Saratoga [Aug 10] – as are Master Of The Seas and Ottoman Fleet – but his main target this year will be the G1 Woodbine Mile [Sep 14], which we have won for the last two years with Modern Games and Master Of The Seas.
Ottoman Fleet
5g Sea The Stars - Innevera
He has adapted well to racing Stateside and is coming off the back of a good win in the G2 Wise Dan at Churchill Downs. He’s been a very consistent horse throughout his career and his main target will probably be the Mint Millions over a mile at Kentucky Downs [Sep 7] - I think a mile is his best trip now.
We could give him a prep as he wouldn’t look out of place in the Fourstardave, although we have several others, including Master Of The Seas, with that race on their radar.
Rebel’s Romance
6g Dubawi - Minidress
He’s never been better since coming back from Hong Kong. We thought that would be an arduous trip for him because of the long haul from the UK, but since shipping back he has been bouncing. I’m not saying he had a hard race there but in the wet conditions a lot of horses felt the effects.
He’s been an absolute star for Godolphin. He’s unbeaten this year, winning in Qatar, Dubai and Hong Kong, and goes next for the King George at Ascot because he deserves a crack at a G1 in Britain.
Then we have time to consider the Sword Dancer after that. The Breeders’ Cup Turf will depend on Measured Time to some extent, as it would make no sense for them to clash. Then there’s the G1 Hong Kong Vase, where he is a course-and-distance winner, in December.
Silver Knott
4g Lope De Vega - God Given
He has won both his starts in the US this year and has thrived since stepping up to a mile and a half – it’s been the making of him. Perhaps we should have done it sooner, as he’s out of a half-sister to Postponed, a dual G1 winner over a mile and a half including the King George at Ascot.
He was second in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and at the start of 2023 he was our highest-rated three-year-old, so we knew he had plenty of ability, although last year’s US campaign didn’t work out. He’s a bright prospect and has plenty of options, with the G2 Bowling Green at Saratoga [July 28] just one of them, while there is also the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic to consider.
Siskany
6g Dubawi - Halay
It’s probably wise to put a line through his last run in the G2 Belmont Gold Cup over two miles at Saratoga last month, as they went a fierce pace in front, serious fractions early, which played into the hands of the eventual winner The Grey Wizard, who had sat last. He was committed to taking a forward position and we knew our fate early on [finished seventh].
Unfortunately there are now no options for him beyond a mile and a half, so we will probably look at the Kentucky Downs Turf Cup at that distance.
Star Of Mystery
3f Kodiac - Mistrusting
She’s a half-sister to Mysterious Night and has come out of her third in the Jaipur at Saratoga in great form. She ran very well there and learned a lot from her first start in America. Gate speed, at that 5½-furlong distance, is very important.
We will point her towards the G3 Quick Call, also over 5½ furlongs at Saratoga [July 14], or possibly the black-type Coronation Cup over the same distance two days earlier. After that we could look at stepping her up in distance for the $2m G2 Music City over 6½ furlongs at Kentucky Downs [Sep 7].
• Visit the Godolphin website and the NYRA Saratoga website
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