Godolphin | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘There’s An Opportunity In Every Horse And That’s How The Industry Exists’

Few people left an imprint at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale quite like Olly Tait. Under the banner of the newly-formed and Qatari-backed Wathnan Racing, Tait signed for nine horses to the tune of 1.75 million gns, headed by 450,000gns purchase Persian Royal (GB) (Al Kazeem {GB}).

Fitting that Tait has been tasked with growing Wathnan Racing into a formidable ownership vehicle in Qatar as it was the Australian native who was entrusted by Godolphin to get their Darley operation off the ground down under back in 2001.

Despite only being in his mid-20s at the time, Tait laid the foundations of the hugely successful Darley Australia arm that continues to flourish to this day.

It was in 2016 that Tait decided to take his experience working for Darley and set up Twin Hills Stud in Australia. With stallions like Smart Missile (Aus), Peltzer (Aus), Hallowed Crown (Aus), Denman (Aus) and Odyssey Moon (Aus) on the Twin Hills roster, the farm has become one of the most prominent studs in Australia in a relatively short period.

Tait has described the challenge of building Wathnan Racing into a force to be reckoned with in the Gulf as something that excites him and, despite playing in a vibrant market at Tattersalls last week, says he is delighted with the additions to the team in this week's Q&A.

Brian Sheerin: You picked up a good variety of horses at Tattersalls last week on behalf of Wathnan Racing. What was the modus operandi heading into that sale?

Olly Tait: There's a wide-ranging programme of racing in Qatar so, obviously, we were keen to buy horses who can win in the colours of Wathnan Racing this season and beyond. We got some horses at the higher end as we're hoping to find a horse capable of winning the Qatar Derby. Equally, there are a lot of nice handicaps to be won in Qatar, so we bought horses at all levels in order to make the stable successful. That's not just having horses who can run in the big races, it's buying horses who can win at all different levels.

BS: Tell us more about Wathnan Racing and how your relationship has developed.

OT: Wathnan Racing is a stable in Qatar and my connection to that is through Abdulhadi Mana Al-Hajri, who I have known for quite a while. He is now heading up that stable in Qatar and contacted me a few months ago asking if I would give him a hand.

BS: And what does the programme for these horses look like in Qatar? In short, what kind of horses are you seeking out and what are the profiles that you think will do well out there?

OT: There is Arabian and thoroughbred racing in Qatar at present but there is a wide-ranging programme there for racehorses over a variety of different trips from October through to March. There are a lot of races to be run and won in that time. As I said, we're looking for horses at every level and over a variety of different distances, not just targeting the Derby, which is run over a mile-and-a-quarter.

BS: Obviously you were very busy recruiting to the stable last week but have you aspirations to recruit horses for Wathnan Racing privately as well?

OT: We'll wait and see. While the selection of horses on offer at Tattersalls was fantastic, we're not beholden to that and it's something we could do.

BS: There were a few jaw-dropping moments during last week's sale and the trade was in keeping with the high demand shown for yearlings during the autumn. What was it like playing in such a vibrant market?

OT: As I have always said, horses are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. The motivation behind buying a horse, in general, is not just a financial return. Horses give people a lot of pleasure and you could see that at the horses-in-training sale with the horses there going to all different parts of the world. That's testimony to the quality of horses that they were but also the fact that there's a really healthy appetite for horses across the globe which is fantastic to see. It's fantastic that so many people want to buy racehorses and there's an opportunity in every horse and that's how the industry exists. That was plain to see at Tattersalls last week.

BS: We all know about your time at Darley and more recently Twin Hills but this is something completely different. On a personal level, how exciting has it been getting a racing operation off the ground as opposed to a stud farm?

OT: On a personal level, it's a very interesting project for me to be involved in. I've got a good relationship with Mr Al-Hajri so it's nice to be able to help him where I can.

BS: And for those who may not be aware, tell us about your time at Darley. I found it interesting that you spent a few years working with the accountancy firm KPMG before writing to Darley and looking for a break in the bloodstock industry.

OT: I grew up with an interest in horses which came from my parents and grandparents who owned horses. They were involved in the agriculture business, mainly sheep and cattle, and I was fortunate to get a job with Darley in my early 20s. Sheikh Mohammed was very ambitious and I was lucky to be a part of that during my time there. I had a great time working for Darley and am very thankful for the opportunities that I have had. When I moved on to Twin Hills, it came at a time where I thought that, if I was ever going to try something on my own, that was the time. Fortunately Twin Hills came on the market when it did. We have been here at Twin Hills for six years now and it's been very challenging but also very rewarding. We've been very lucky as it's been a buoyant market in Australia and right around the world. The racing industry in Australia is very healthy and I guess our timing has been good in that we have been a part of that. We have been selling horses on a commercial level, standing stallions and looking after people's bloodstock interests, to the extent that Twin Hills is now a reasonably sized operation. I've been exposed to lots of different things in the industry but I have been at it for quite a while now and it's been a career that I've thoroughly enjoyed.

BS: You've clearly had some excellent mentors along the way.

OT: I have been very lucky. When I was working with Darley, I was exposed to amazing people in the industry and that's not just the people who would be perceived as being successful. I've met people at all different levels who have had an impact on me and continue to do so.

BS: It's interesting that you were just 25 when entrusted to set up the Australian arm of the Darley operation. Angus Gold was also quite young when he got the Shadwell job. It just shows that, if you're good enough, you're old enough.

OT: I was lucky that the faith was put in me because that's not an easy decision to give a job like that to a person of that age. In the beginning, it wasn't a major operation; it was just me and another employee with a number of stallions. There was obviously always that chance that it was going to grow into something big, which it has and, hopefully I showed along the way that I was up to the task. It was just really enjoyable to be part of an operation that grew the way it did internationally. This is a global industry and there are opportunities internationally but there are not many operations that have an international presence and I was lucky to work for Darley and get those opportunities. I'll be forever thankful for that.

The post ‘There’s An Opportunity In Every Horse And That’s How The Industry Exists’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Appleby on Godolphin: ‘It’s like a football team here, all the players play their part’

NEWMARKET, UK–Dawn hasn't even broken on Thursday morning at Godolphin's Moulton Paddocks and trainer Charlie Appleby is discussing with his lieutenants Marie Murphy and Chris Connett which rugs to pack for his team of seven horses travelling to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

“That's 14 crates we're up to now,” he says, rolling his eyes and smiling. “Wasn't like that back in the day.”

Appleby is a lifer when it comes to racing, from his days as a youngster working for Jackie Retter and Susan Piggott, to his role as Godolphin's trainer at Moulton Paddocks. To say that the private Newmarket estate on which his horses stretch their legs each morning is state of the art doesn't even begin to do justice to the eye-popping facilities available, from figure-of-eight covered rides, to spas, and a selection of gallops on turf, irrigated woodchip, and Polytrack.

By far the most endearing trait of Appleby–a widely-liked member of both the Newmarket and wider racing community–is the lightness with which he wears his success. In fact, he barely acknowledges it for himself, referring regularly to what “we've achieved”. Not the royal we, it's the team of which he is nominally the captain and very much a part.

As he stands alongside the canters that spread across the side of a gentle hill awaiting his first lot of 60 horses, Appleby chats about which surface he prefers (turf or woodchip over Polytrack) and says wryly, “I dread having a bad spell because when you look at all this, it's not like we could be let down by the facilities.”

Fortunately, he hasn't had to worry about too many bad spells, and certainly not in the last few years. As his ten-year anniversary at the helm approaches, he can boast of a record that most of his colleagues in the training ranks could only dream about. Not that he does.

Since taking up the reins at Moulton Paddocks in July 2013, following a turbulent spell in the operation's history culminating in an eight-year ban for his former boss Mahmood Al Zarooni, Appleby, with his collaborative approach, has deftly steered Godolphin back into the big time of top-class winners the world over. In that relatively short time he has trained two Derby winners, an Irish Derby winner, six Breeders' Cup winners, Horse of the Year Ghaiyyath (Ire), champion two-year-old Native Trail (GB), Melbourne Cup hero Cross Counter (Ire), and a dual Royal Ascot Group 1 winner in one week in Blue Point (Ire). Following last year's sensational hat-trick at the Breeders' Cup, a season in which he became champion trainer for the first time, Appleby followed up this spring by becoming the first trainer to win 2,000 Guineas equivalents in three countries with three different horses.

“It's amazing how, when you come to the end of the season now, it just seems so far away what was achieved in the spring,” he says as he casts his mind back to Coroebus (Ire) beating Native Trail in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, before the latter took the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Modern Games (Ire) won the Poule d'Essai des Poulains.

“I have to remind myself of that, and also remind the team. It's like a football team here, all the players play their part and so you want to keep morale up during times where sometimes it might be a bit quiet. But it is also to just remind them of what they've achieved. Three Guineas winners in three different countries–that hadn't been done before. I take great pride in what the whole team has achieved.”

A key factor in the success of that team is in its longevity. Appleby himself, now 47, has been with Godolphin for almost quarter of a century, and he is surrounded by many longstanding colleagues, as well as an abundance of highly regarded former jockeys, both still in the saddle and on the ground.

As we head out to meet first lot, led by Modern Games, appearing from the trees after their warm-up, a figure emerges from the darkness and Appleby says, “Here's Benny The Dip's rider.” Step forward Derby-winning jockey Willie Ryan, the trainer's eyes and ears as the horses approach the canter. Among those still riding, spotted as daybreak eases the viewing, are former champions Kieren Fallon and Seb Sanders, one rather more stylish than the other.

Three equine-related subjects occupy Appleby's mind this morning. Uppermost is his septet about to depart for the Breeders' Cup, all of whom came through a final strong workout on Wednesday with no issues, and who will board the flight to America on Saturday. Next comes the matter of the trainers' championship, in which he has been duelling with fellow Newmarket trainer William Haggas for much of the season but now has the upper hand. Of no less importance on the personal front is how his twin daughters, the eldest two of four children he has with his wife Aisling, are faring in a half-term show jumping championship in Cheshire. Very well, it appears, and it will be no surprise to see the name Appleby become a dominant force in the pony racing ranks in the not-too-distant future.

The vagaries of the British Flat racing season mean that both the owners' and the jockeys' championships have already been decided, with Godolphin and William Buick lending a true blue hue to Champions Day when collecting their trophies at Ascot. The trainer has to wait until the end of the year to see if he will retain his title, but it is hard to imagine now that he won't. Furthermore, the stallion to whom Appleby owes a significant debt of gratitude, the 20-year-old Darley stalwart Dubawi, looks set to earn his first champion sire title in Britain and Ireland this year. It is nothing short of a bluewash.

“I know people will say, 'Well, it's done', but the championship runs until the end of the year and I think there are still some little chances for both myself and William to try and gain a bit more,” says Appleby, clearly not resting on his laurels.

“We've had those three Guineas horses, but we haven't had that standout horse that's gone through the season, and I take my hat off to William and Baaeed for keeping that consistency throughout the season at that top level. We've not had that horse.”

At the beginning of the year, it could well have been hoped that the standout horse would be Derby winner Adayar (Ire), but niggling problems meant that his return was delayed until September, when we saw him easily win a conditions race before chasing home Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) for second in the G1 Champion S. Happily, the imposing son of Frankel will remain in training at five, while his fellow Classic winners Native Trail and Modern Games look set to return at four.

This will no doubt be music to the ears of those who remember the elite Godolphin team of yesteryear, which was famed for its globetrotting older horses such as Fantastic Light, Kayf Tara (GB), and Daylami (Ire). Appleby, who certainly doesn't want for firepower when it comes to the bluebloods in his stable, has added another dimension of dominance at home and abroad.

“Most importantly, it was a brief from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed right at the start of all of this, very kind words, which were, 'I've got the confidence in you to do what you need to do, and the horses will repay you'. And, frankly, that's what they've done,” says Appleby.

“Last year, winning the championship was fantastic, but some people forget what we've achieved internationally. We're going to the Breeders' Cup hopefully with seven runners, and legitimate runners as well. And we've got a horse that campaigned in Germany all summer, and horses have been to France, and obviously we had our small team in America that did well. And that draws away from your home team. We are going out to try and win a championship, but we're also going out to try and win as many Grade 1 races as possible, because at the end of the day, we're an operation that is trying to produce stallions and trying to improve the broodmare band, so that's foremost in our programme.”

The cyclical nature of such a business means that next season the trainer will be overseeing the careers of some of the first-crop runners of his first Derby winner Masar (Ire), as well as top sprinter Blue Point.

“That's exciting,” he says, “Especially with Blue Point being so close to everybody's heart. The only thing is that it reminds you you're getting a bit older.”

Season's end can also bring with it pause for reflection but, despite some rip-roaring years, Appleby appears intent on looking forward rather than revelling in past glories.

He adds, “Every year since we've started training, myself and the management, we've got together at the end of the year and pointed out our highs and our lows. We look at what we can try to do to make things better.

“We're approaching that time now, and one thing I want to applaud them all for is the consistency. We haven't dropped below a 30% strike-rate, thankfully, throughout the season. I don't purposely go out there to try and achieve good stats, but it's something that I will monitor throughout the season to see how we are doing, because at the end of the day, they don't lie.”

An international racing programme, peppered with regular trips to Dubai's Marmoon Stable for the trainer, means that consistency in the personnel at home, too, is paramount.

“Alex Merriam and Marie Murphy will represent us at a lot at race meetings internationally,” says Appleby. “They've got a great support team behind them as well, in the head lads that are involved here. We've all worked together for years and I very rarely have to give an instruction now, everything just happens.

“When I'm away and I phone the guys, we're all speaking the same language and we all look at the horse in the same manner. When I go round into those stables and I look at the horses, and I might say a certain horse looks light perhaps, Marie will already be on it because they're seeing it the same way as I'm seeing it.”

He continues, “And again, with the travelling team, Chris Connett and Chris Durham, they do such fantastic jobs on these trips, looking after these horses and training them in the same way. We're in a very luxurious position in that I very rarely have to tell them what to do. There's a system in place. The same people jump the horses off at the bottom of the canter, and the same people meet them at the top. I don't have to see those parts of their training because they will report back to me and say, 'So and so is sweating, he doesn't normally sweat'. We'll get straight back and look at the horse ourselves, and if we feel there's something that needs to be investigated, then we'll ask the farriers and the vets to be involved as well. You're always trying to nip something in the bud early.”

It would appear that Sheikh Mohammed shares his trainer's desire to look to the future. As well as an abundance of homebreds to come into training next year, Appleby can presumably anticipate the arrival of a significant number of the 35 yearlings recently bought by his boss for the equivalent of £26.5 million at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

“The enthusiasm from His Highness and the royal family is relentless, and it's fantastic for us, as well as for the sport and the industry,” says Appleby. “All we've spoken about lately is the yearlings. How are the yearlings getting on? That's the new generation, looking to the future, and that's why Dubai is what it is. There's always a vision there to keep driving on.”

The season may be coming to an end, but even in winter, there is little downtime for the modern-day Flat trainer. The yearlings are already being broken in by Tim Denniff and his team at a separate yard on the Moulton Paddocks estate, and of course the Dubai Carnival is another important focus for all employed at Godolphin. No wonder then that Appleby says in a brief reflection on the events of the last decade, “Where's the time gone?”

He adds, “We all stood at the top of that hill back in 2013 talking about what we were going to try to achieve. There have been some bumps in the road, when the winners haven't flowed, or we haven't had those group winners that we'd like to have had. But I think generally, if I step back and look at our anniversary of 10 years, we could say we've not done too badly.”

Not too badly at all.

The post Appleby on Godolphin: ‘It’s like a football team here, all the players play their part’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Delahunt Earns Irish Racing Excellence Award

Brian Delahunt, Stud Groom at Baroda Stud in County Kildare, was announced as the Irish Racing Excellence Award winner at the 2022 Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards in the Keadeen Hotel on Tuesday evening. Supported by Godolphin, the awards are formerly known as the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards.

Delahunt has been working in the racing and breeding industry since he was 20, working in Ardoon Stud and Tipper House Stud before moving to Baroda Stud in Newbridge 10 years ago and was among eight recipients of an Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award.

The other seven Godolphin sponsored award winners are: Tom Agar, Edward, Imran Haider, Willie Mullins, Tommy Hayes, Denis Lawlor, Stephanie McGinley, Sinead O'Sullivan and John J Murphy.

Each Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award winner received a specially commissioned trophy by sculptor Ani Mollereau and €4,000. An additional €2,500 was awarded to their employers to be used for the benefit of each winner's colleagues.

Chosen by the Irish Stable Staff Association, and based on a quality programme evaluation, Downpatrick Racecourse won the Racecourse Award for the facilities they offer stable staff.

The Racecourse Award winner, Downpatrick Racecourse won €2,500 to be spent on upgrading facilities that will benefit stable employees along with an Ani Mollereau trophy.

The post Delahunt Earns Irish Racing Excellence Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Appleby Aiming To Outstrip Last Year’s Breeders’ Cup Hat-Trick

NEWMARKET, UK–The Breeders' Cup has special resonance for Charlie Appleby, who trained his first Grade I winner at the championships not four months into his tenure as trainer for Godolphin back in 2013.

That important first milestone was provided by Darley homebred Outstrip (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) in the Juvenile Turf, and if the American race fans didn't pay much attention to Appleby that day, they do now, for it was a win which set the tone for the years to follow, not just at the Breeders' Cup, but in top-level races in North America generally. Rarely does an Appleby runner under-perform when sent stateside, and more often than not they will return with another trophy to add to the overflowing sideboards in the trainer's office at Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket.

Behind his desk, neatly spaced, are three matching trophies from Del Mar last year, when Appleby and his newly-crowned champion jockey for 2022, William Buick, took Del Mar by storm. As important as those victories were for the racing stable, the icing on the cake for Sheikh Mohammed's vast breeding operation was the fact that Yibir (GB), Space Blues (Ire) and Modern Games (Ire) are all homebred sons of Darley's flagship stallion, Dubawi (Ire).

“It was a big win,” says Appleby casting his mind back to Outstrip while catching up with some Australian racing on TV before heading out to oversee his first lot. “And it was one of those very surreal moments. To stand at Santa Anita with that backdrop and watching your first Grade 1 winner go by the line…”

He tails off, momentarily reliving a significant moment in his own career, which has gone from strength to strength in subsequent seasons to see him crowned champion trainer in Britain last year for the first time. It is a title he is odds-on to retain as 2022 draws to a close.

“Look, I'd been in the operation for a long time before that, so you always know what these moments mean, but when you're holding that trophy, and my name was next to it, that does really give you an amazing feeling, and a feeling that you want more,” he adds.

“So the Breeders' Cup always been a meeting that we've campaigned. I'm not saying we've campaigned hard, but I feel that we've always tried to find the right horses to be the most competitive anyway. And thankfully, it's so far been a lucky hunting ground.”

In 2017 came the turn of Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Filly & Mare Turf, while Line Of Duty (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) gave Appleby his second strike in the Juvenile Turf the following year. That race has now gone the trainer's way three times, though last year's success was not without drama. One of his two intended starters in the race, Albahr (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), became fractious in the stalls, forcing him and his stablemate Modern Games to be removed from the gates. In a tumultuous few moments ahead of the start, it initially appeared as if both horses had been scratched from the race, but eventually Modern Games and Buick were reinstated and went on to win, with chaos ensuing for punters.

“Last year was an amazing year. I felt that we added plenty of drama to the meeting as well,” says Appleby with no little understatement.

“Walking away with three homebred winners and all three of them by Dubawi, I did say to the team there, as much as we say 'well, that was great', we must try harder next year to better that. That might take a little bit of surpassing though, because it was a huge achievement by everybody and we were very proud to walk off the racetrack with what we'd achieved.”

Indeed, it will be hard to top those results at Keeneland this year, but the Appleby team—and the trainer consistently refers to the stable's success as 'we' rather than 'I'—certainly plans to give it a good old rattle.

The one thing I'm confident of with Naval Crown is that he's got gate speed in abundance

The seven runners bound for Kentucky all came through their last piece of fast work on Wednesday in good heart, and will continue with routine canters until shipping on Saturday. With Space Blues now at Kildangan Stud in Ireland and Yibir not travelling, it falls to Modern Games to lead the raiders as he bids to add the Breeders' Cup Mile to his victory last year. In the interim, he became Appleby's third Guineas winner of 2022 when landing the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, following the victory of the late Coreoebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the 2000 Guineas and Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. Modern Games has already made another trip back across the Atlantic this year to win the GI Woodbine Mile.

“When unfortunately Coroebus didn't turn up for the Sussex Stakes, it was felt that Modern Games was the substitute. But he posted one of the closest finishes to Baaeed when finishing second in the Sussex. He then went to Canada and won very well there,” says Appleby.

“Then with the QEII on Champions Day, as the rain came down again on the day, I thought 'should we really be running this horse?'. But he was in great order, and as always, he went out on his shield, finishing second in ground that William said he hated from start to finish.

“It won't be too soft at Keeneland. I imagine Kinross will start favourite, but he's up there and in great order.”

The statuesque Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is one of two Godolphin runners, along with Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), being aimed at the Breeders' Cup Turf, claimed last year by Yibir. The four-year-old has had quite the season, with four straight wins culminating in back-to-back Group 1s in Germany over 1m4f.

Appleby says of Rebel's Romance, “He's a past UAE Derby winner and he went out to America on the back end of that winter in Dubai to potentially participate in the Kentucky Derby, but he met with setbacks out there so that didn't materialise. We went back out to Dubai to try and continue his dirt career, which again didn't materialise last winter, but he's been a revelation since we switched him to the turf.

“He stays well, he's got the experience, he's well travelled. I think he's a big player on the night. He'll be joined by Nation's Pride, who's a three-year-old coming into it with a similar profile to Yibir. Obviously they both won the Jockey Club Derby Invitational en route to the Breeders' Cup. But prior to that, Nation's Pride does bring a bit more American experience to the table as well.”

That experience was provided by the son of Teofilo heading straight from his eighth-place finish at Epsom in the Derby to take second in the GI Belmont Derby before winning the GI Saratoga Derby.

Appleby adds, “Nations Pride will probably go off favourite on the day. William [Buick] will ride him and James [Doyle] will ride Rebel's Romance; they're two live players.”

If he gets a good draw, [Silver Knott] is probably the horse they've all got to beat realistically

The trainer is also double-handed in the Turf Sprint with the Dubawi duo of Naval Crown (GB) and Creative Force (Ire), who finished first and second, a neck separating them, in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot.

“They are both rock solid little horses,” states Appleby. “Creative Force had a break after the summer and we were delighted with his reappearance run on Champions Day, finishing third. He's definitely come forward for that run.

“Naval Crown has got quicker, dare I say it, as the season's gone on. But it hasn't quite gone right for him since the Platinum Jubilee. He ran a good race in the July Cup [when second to Alcohol Free] but was disappointing on very quick ground [at Haydock] and then obviously disappointed on the soft ground on Champions Day. “But the one thing I'm confident of with Naval Crown is that he's got gate speed in abundance. That's what's needed over there, so that's a tick for him. He's got experience and I think he'll enjoy being back on a turning track.”

Appleby also takes aim once more at the Juvenile Turf, this time with the smart Silver Knott (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who already has a pair of Group 3 wins to his credit, and whose yearling half-brother by Dubawi was recently recruited to the Godolphin team for next year to the tune of 1,500,000gns at Tattersalls.

“His form has worked out quite well and, dare I say it, he has a profile similar to Outstrip,” notes the trainer. “He's competed at a nice level and a sounder surface will suit him, so hopefully we will get that. If he gets a good draw, he's probably the horse they've all got to beat realistically.”

Completing the septet is the G3 Sirenia S. winner Mischief Magic (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), who was subsequently fourth to Blackbeard (Ire) in the G1 Middle Park S. and will line up in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.

“He's got plenty of natural pace and he's definitely a player,” Appleby adds.

“As we all know, you've got to have a lot of luck around there. You've got to travel well, you've got to acclimatise well. And in the shorter-distance events, you have to have a draw. So there's still a few more hurdles to get over, but it's an exciting team to be taking out there.”

The post Appleby Aiming To Outstrip Last Year’s Breeders’ Cup Hat-Trick appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post