ENGLISH TEXTS
Classic wins for Godolphin at both Kentucky and Newmarket. In England, Charlie Appleby was the man of the moment, thanks to his double victory in the 2,000 and 1, 000 Guineas.
While in the USA and other parts of the world, Godolphin horses are trained by the country’ s leading public trainers, in England the operation relies primarily on two private trainers: Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor. Since taking over Mahmoud Al Zarooni’ s stable in 2013, Charlie Appleby has continued to shine on the world’ s most prestigious stages. His latest stars, Ruling Court and Desert Flower, brought his tally of Group 1 wins for the blue silks to 88 and 89 respectively.
Travel Broadens the Mind Originally from the southwest of England, where he grew up surrounded by ponies and Purebred Arabians, and even rode a few races as an amateur, Charlie Appleby has been donning the Godolphin blue since the 1990s. He joined David Loder even before the latter set up in Évry, and the young Appleby later became a travelling lad for the stable in France- formative trips for the trainer he would become.“ We were in something of a bubble with a very international team, but I made the most of all aspects of French life! I travelled across racecourses throughout France and Europe. I learned which tracks suited which types of horses and how to build a campaign around a horse’ s abilities.” His first top-level success came with Outstrip in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, setting the tone for dozens more to come. Charlie Appleby continues to push boundaries, always choosing his spots wisely and aiming for the highest level.“ When I got my license, I had many discussions with Sheikh Mohammed about the goals for the stable- the desire to bring Godolphin back to its rightful place at the top.” The 2018 season was a turning point for Appleby. After winning his first Group 1s during the Dubai World Cup meeting, Masar famously crossed the line first in the Derby. Then the trainer fulfilled one of Sheikh Mohammed’ s long-held racing dreams in the Southern Hemisphere.“ In 2017, we went to Australia with four horses and won several Cups. We took the opportunity to study their system. The following year, we reached the summit when Cross Counter won the Melbourne Cup- the race Godolphin had spent 30 years trying to win. We got the job done.” Appleby applied the same approach- gaining experience before striking- recently in the U. S. and Canada, and expanded his reach with a first win in Hong Kong last year with globetrotter Rebel’ s Romance.
From Meydan to the Rowley Mile
Charlie Appleby has become a dominant force at the Dubai Carnival, especially on the turf at Meydan. It was in the Jumeirah 2 000 Guineas that Ruling Court secured his ticket to the English classic, pulling off an unprecedented double of the Emirates and Newmarket 2 000 Guineas- a feat that surely delighted Sheikh Mohammed. It’ s yet another example of a man unafraid to take the road less travelled- he even prepared Notable Speech for the 2024 Guineas exclusively on the all-weather track at Kempton. After a few years of attempts, Charlie Appleby now boasts three wins from the last four editions of the 2,000 Guineas. In the winner’ s enclosure, he remarked:“ It took us a while, but now we’ ve figured out how to win this race. I could spend all day thanking everyone who played a part in this victory, but everyone knows what they did. It’ s a team effort. I feel like I’ m getting older, but we’ re learning to appreciate these truly exceptional days.” One thing hasn’ t escaped us … the most prestigious international race of all— the Qatar Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe— still eludes Charlie Appleby’ s record. He has entered two horses this year, including his latest classic winner. Perhaps a project already in motion!
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