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‘He has been an ultimate professional’: Silver Knott Pleases Appleby

NEWMARKET, UK–With three Godolphin Classic winners having already taken to the Rowley Mile this week in early-morning gallops, on Thursday it was the turn of the Classic hopes.

GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Silver Knott (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and G2 Gimcrack S. winner Noble Style (GB) (Kingman {GB}) are both under consideration for QIPCO 2,000 Guineas in just over a fortnight's time and they stretched out over seven furlongs in a serious piece of work under James Doyle and William Buick respectively.

Noble Style, not seen on the racecourse since his success at York in August, was first up in company with Listed-winning stablemate Highland Avenue (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), whose half-sister Silver Lady (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) won impressively on debut at Newmarket on Wednesday.

Silver Knott followed, easing past his fellow three-year-old, the Listed winner and Group 2-placed Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

Appleby admitted to being uncertain as to whether Noble Style will see out the mile of the Guineas. “We will be going into it with that mindset to be brutally honest, hoping that we will see the Guineas trip out,” he said. “Our decision will be, are we going to be a miler or are we going to be dropping him back?

“On the evidence of what I've seen there we will still be going into the Guineas with that question on the back of our minds. It is all very well what we have done here this morning but it will be a different ball game when those gates open in the Guineas going a fair rattle on quick ground. Stepping up from six [furlongs] to a mile is a big leap of faith really but, as I've said, it is a Guineas and he deserves to be in the race being a Gimcrack winner.”

Appleby added, “I purposely asked William to give Noble Style a good gallop this morning as there are things we are trying to work out about him. In his work at home he has always had that peacock head carriage.

“I said to William we have worked all winter to try and get him to drop that. Being in front he drops it but being in behind he has that peacock head carriage. That is why I asked William to just grab hold of him as it is the first time he has been grabbed hold of all winter. We have spent a lot of time trying to get him to drop that head it was now time to go and ask about his business.

“He has had a good blow this morning and I'm pleased. I think we will see a big improvement from here onwards.”

Silver Knott has had the benefit of six starts, including two Group 3 wins at home in the UK, as well as an overseas trip to Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup.

Appleby said of the son of Group 1 winner God Given (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), “The one thing with Silver Knott is that he is professional. For me, he has got a great profile coming into a Guineas in what he has achieved so far.

“James said he is not electric and doesn't really quicken but he just keeps lengthening, that is the sort of horse he is. He sees the mile out strong. He is a horse that will come forward a good bit for this morning.”

He continued, “I questioned how he would take America but the one thing was he grew up so much in that week out there. He was a horse that surprised me how he took it as he wasn't originally on the America list.

“Mysterious Knight was going to go there, but Silver Knott took his slot. The interesting thing was how much he grew up in his time there and he has shown that all winter subsequently. He has been an ultimate professional that goes out and just does his work. He is not flash but does everything that is asked of him.”

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Another Shadwell Star To Shine In the Craven?

There is no doubt that, in general, Newmarket's G3 Craven S. has lost much of its former relevance as a 2000 Guineas trial, but in the last two years it has enjoyed a revival with winners Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) going close in the mile Classic. Godolphin and Charlie Appleby have another leading man this time in the GI Summer S. and G3 Prix Francois Boutin scorer Mysterious Night (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), but the one that really catches the eye is Shadwell's Kempton novice winner Mostabshir (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}). A half-brother to the G1 Falmouth S. and G1 Sun Chariot S. heroine Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire) and four-time group winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), the John and Thady Gosden-trained grey is tested earlier than that pair with extra precocity from the sire.

“They've all been happy with him at home, so with the season starting we need to know where we are with him,” Angus Gold said. “He's still entered in the Guineas and I'm imagining that will come too quick for him, but let's see how we get on Thursday. He's the least experienced in the field and it will tell us a lot more in terms of his class and the track and all those things. It's a learning curve.”

The Case For Chaldean…

He may not be running until Saturday, but Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is indirectly involved in the Craven with Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) just half a length behind Juddmonte's leading 2000 Guineas contender in York's G3 Acomb S. and 3 1/2 lengths in arrears in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster, where Silver Knott (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) was behind. Now with Karl Burke, Amo Racing's big Guineas hope is up to a mile for the first time and racing and operations manager Tom Pennington believes that will see improvement.

“His pedigree suggests he will get a mile and he got seven furlongs well last year as a two-year-old,” he said. “The form is there. He has to make the improvement from two to three, but he definitely has the scope to do that and the form is in the book so he will be a nice three-year-old going forward hopefully.”

King Power's course-and-distance G2 Royal Lodge S. winner The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) will provide Chaldean's trainer Andrew Balding with more of an idea where he stands ahead of the May 6 Classic, while Isa Salman Al Khalifa's G3 Horris Hill S. third Ancestral Land (GB) (Sioux Nation) can not be left out of equations.

“His whole demeanour gives us the impression he will get a mile and we hope that will be possible,” trainer Clive Cox said. “I trained his dam to win over five furlongs, but he is a horse that has done exceptionally well physically and he hit the line well over seven last year.”

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Adayar and Native Trail Delight Appleby in Racecourse Spin

NEWMARKET, UK–On Tuesday, Charlie Appleby gave us one Classic winner in action on the Rowley Mile, and by Wednesday that had doubled in number as his older-horse brigade continue the countdown to their seasonal debuts.

With Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) having pleased the trainer on Tuesday, last season's Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and the 2021 Derby winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) stepped out on the turf which is drying all the time in the windy conditions.

“I'm very happy with both of them and thanks to Newmarket for letting us use the racecourse,” said Appleby after watching first Native Trail and James Doyle then Adayar and William Buick complete a straightforward piece of work over six furlongs, each in the company of a lead horse.

“I'm pleased I brought him up here,” he added of Adayar. “You can't beat getting them up here and having a racecourse gallop. With these older horses, they get a year older and a year wiser, so at home they can be a little more complacent. Will was happy with him. He picked up well. We weren't asking him for strong work because we're only ten days off a run now.”

That first engagement on April 28 is the G3 Gordon Richards S. at Sandown, a race which the trainer hopes will be a “stepping stone” to the G1 Prince of Wales's S.

Royal Ascot is also on the horizon for Native Trail, who was runner-up to his ill-fated stable-mate Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Guineas last May before his Irish Classic success. Subsequent increases to 10 furlongs for the Eclipse and the Juddmonte International saw his stamina tested.

“Native Trail showed his usual enthusiasm,” said Appleby after the morning's gallop. “One thing we learnt at the back end of his three-year-old career was that he is not a mile-and-a-quarter horse. He's a miler, and the plan is to go to the Paradise Stakes at Ascot and use that as a prep for the Queen Anne, all being well.”

Adayar and William Buick

Now four and five respectively, Native Trail and Adayar are at the vanguard of an exciting team of older horses for Godolphin this season.

“It's one thing our operation has been doing over the years, thankfully, keeping these horses in training,” Appleby said.

His former stable star Blue Point (Ire), who notably won two Group 1 sprints in the same week at Royal Ascot, raced until he was five, and the son of Shamardal has put down an early marker in the contest to be this year's champion first-season sire. His third winner, Blue Storm (Ire), came on the opening day of the Craven meeting for James Tate.

“He's three from four now,” Appleby noted. “I'm hoping to bring one by him out at the Guineas meeting.”

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‘TDN Rising Star’ First Mission Wins Lexington

Godolphin homebred First Mission, coming off an impressive maiden-breaking score at Fair Grounds last month, made the jump to graded company with aplomb, striding home a determined victor of the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off at 2-1, the dark bay colt sat just off pacesetting Arabian Lion through fractions of :24.12 and :48.01. He cut the corner into the stretch as the pacesetter drifted out into the lane and gamely persevered as that foe drifted back in on him and he was inching clear late.

“This was a tough Lexington S.,” said Godolphin director of bloodstock Michael Banahan. “There were some nice horses in there. So we were very hopeful and confident that if he showed the talent that we thought he had, we had a big, big chance. It's exceptionally nice to see that happen, and especially the experience he needed to get, coming down [the stretch] in tight on the rail. For an inexperienced horse, I think that will hold well for the future with us.”

A debut second behind well-regarded stablemate Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) while sprinting six furlongs at Fair Grounds Feb. 18, First Mission romped home by 6 3/4 lengths in a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy performance when stretched to 1 1/16 miles in New Orleans last time out Mar. 18.

“[Trainer] Brad [Cox] just got this guy in after Christmas time and had never seen him before, so he wasn't sure where we were going to stable him for the winter time,” Banahan said. “He saw him work one time up at Churchill and he said, 'This horse is going down to Fair Grounds,' where he put all his good horses.

“We've always held him in high regard. He had a few juvenile issues last year, but we were very high on him. He ran a tremendous race first time out, when Brad's other horse beat him going six furlongs, knowing he wanted to stretch out. He won very easily last time.”

Asked if First Mission may make his next start in the GI Preakness S. in five weeks' time, Banahan said, “I think it will be ideal, really. When he ran in his maiden race, we thought, 'OK, let's come back a little quicker in the maiden, a little bit quicker back in here' from what Brad would normally do, to see if he had enough talent to do that. I think he answered a lot of questions today, so we'd certainly look hard at that. I think we have a nice horse for down the road even if he doesn't make one of the Classics.”

With his third-place finish, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Disarm earned enough points to qualify for a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“It looks like he got enough points to go, so we have the option to go,” Ron Winchell said. “We'll see how he comes out of this race. We've always thought a mile and a quarter [of the Derby] would be fine for him.”

Pedigree Notes:

First Mission is the 39th worldwide graded winner for his sire, Street Sense. His dam Etude produced a full-brother last year and was bred back to Protonico. His second dam is Argentinian champion Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar).

Saturday, Keeneland
STONESTREET LEXINGTON S.-GIII, $398,750, Keeneland, 4-15, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.74, ft.
1–FIRST MISSION, 118, c, 3, by Street Sense
                1st Dam: Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Forty Marchanta (Arg), by Roar
                3rd Dam: Marcha Toss (Arg), by Egg Toss
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis
Saez. $232,500. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $276,500.
Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Arabian Lion, 118, c, 3, Justify–Unbound, by Distorted
Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($600,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing
Stables, Inc.; B-Bonne Chance Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
$75,000.
3–Disarm, 118, c, 3, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $37,500.
Margins: HF, 4 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 2.19, 3.89, 3.46.
Also Ran: Denington, Demolition Duke, Prairie Hawk, Empirestrikesfast, Baseline Beater, Reinvest, Curly Larry and Mo. Scratched: Transect.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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