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| Staff Writer |
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Running Royal Fleet in the Bahrain International Trophy last season gave Charlie Appleby valuable insight. If Appleby wanted one of his horses to be successful in that event, he needed to start the planning process long before the gates opened. Last year, Royal Fleet ranked eighth at the Bahrain International Trophy.
“It is a race that needs to be planned in advance as part of the horse’s campaign because it is a very competitive race,” Appleby said.
Appleby is excited to return to Dubai and has several horses that are contenders to return to Bahrain. With a solid plan in place, Appleby believes he can find more success. Appleby has spent his entire career working to push his team and the horses they train to the top of the sport.
The early part of the season has shown that the horses Appleby has trained can be contenders to win on any stage around the world. If Appleby can build on recent successes and pick up a few more victories, he is well on the way to adding more accolades to his already overstuffed resume.
Appleby is a British trainer who works for Godolphin. He started working as a Godolphin trainer in July 2013. Previously, Appleby had worked for Sheikh Mohammed in several different positions. With Appleby’s resume, his experience shows that he has excelled in nearly every aspect of racing.
He started as a jockey, competing in point-to-points and amateur flat races. Appleby saddled a Group 1 winner in November 2013 when Outstrip won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at San Anita Park race track in Arcadia, California. For Appleby’s career, he has trained more than 600 winning horses.
Appleby has won three International Trainer of the Year awards for his efforts. The award, which is sponsored by the Newmarket-based International Racing Bureau, recognizes the trainer who has made the largest global impact. For now, Appleby splits his time between Marmoom Stables in Dubai during the winter and Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket, Suffolk, UK. The stable at Moulton Paddocks typically has around 200 horses at any time.
Currently, Appleby is happy with the job he and his team have been able to do, getting everything geared up for the season.
“All in good form, thank you,” Appleby said. “Looking forward to getting back to Dubai.”
Over the past few weeks, Appleby’s horses have been in a strong run of form, striking at 50 per cent. It is a good sign for the upcoming winter season. Many Gulf Cooperation Council countries have put together intense racing events with good prize money.
Appleby is happy that his horses are peaking at the right time.
“You are always happy to see the horses in good form, and thankfully, it is coming at the right time of year going onto the winter program,” Appleby said.
Returning to the Bahrain Turf Club for the Bahrain International Trophy will be more prestigious for Appleby and his team this year. Not only is the event one they’ve prepped for but the race was upgraded to a Group Two level last July. It is now the highest-profile race in the kingdom.
The Bahrain International Trophy featured a diverse group of competitors last year. Entrants from six different countries duked it out for the title. Last year’s winner, Dubai Future, was trained by Saeed Bin Suroor, who also works for Godolphin. This year’s race will be the first $1 million race in Bahrain.
“The racing in Bahrain is becoming more competitive each year, which is good for the Bahrain Turf Club as I’m sure a lot of work has gone into this,” Appleby said. “ We will always look forward to supporting the racing in Bahrain with hopefully competitive runners.”
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Being competitive in Bahrain will be more than just having the right training. Appleby also needs to find suitable horses as well. Two candidates from his stables are Highland Avenue, a 5-year-old grey gelding, and Nations Pride, a 4YO bay colt.
Nations Pride is the more accomplished horse out of the two. He has won nine of his 14 starts in his career. Nations Pride has a career earnings of $2.8 million. Most impressive has been Nations Pride’s form in 2023. He has picked up three victories so far in turf races.
He won the Group Three Dubai Millennium Stakes in February, a Group One race in Germany in July, and the Group One Canadian International in August. Winning at Woodbine in Canada is something that Appleby is accustomed to. During his career, Appleby has a record of eight wins from 11 starts at Woodbine.
Nations Pride had to run down Royal Champion to win the race. Royal Champion opened with a large lead, and Appleby wasn’t optimistic that Nations Pride would close the gap. However, Nations Pride, ridden by jockey William Buick, was able to make up the deficit on the stretch run. Nations Pride would end up winning the race by 2 1⁄4 lengths.
“Nations Pride has come back from Canada in good form, and it was always our plan to go to Bahrain from Canada,” Appleby said.
Nations Pride also finished third in the Dubai Turf sponsored by DP World event in March. Appleby believes that Nations Pride has plenty of potential.
“Hopefully, he will go on to win the Bahrain International!” Appleby said. “From there, he will go on to Dubai.”
Highland Avenue Turns The Corner
Highland Avenue couldn’t quite find his way onto the winner’s stand during his first few races in 2023. However, October proved to be a kinder month for the horse. He got his first win in five tries at the Group Earthlight Darley Stakes at Newmarket.
“Highland Avenue has always shown at home that he has the potential to be a group horse, so it was pleasing to see him gain that victory in the Darley Stakes, which gave him automatic qualification to run,” Appleby said.
Before the win at the Darley Stakes, Highland Avenue had placed second and third and had two other fourth-place finishes this year. Appleby said Highland Avenue may have been able to win for the first time thanks to the rest he had.
“He has come out of the race fresh and well, and he was fresh going into the race, which helped,” Appleby said.
The Darley Stakes event would be a real boon for Appleby. Younger horses Dance Sequence, Arabian Crown, and Ancient Wisdom all pick up wins. Having the 2YO dominating helped build the excitement for when Highland Avenue broke through as well.
Highland Avenue hadn’t won a race since winning the Feilden Stakes in 2021 before he won at the Darley Stakes. The race wasn’t even particularly close. Highland Avenue won by four lengths. During Highland Avenue’s career, he has won four races and placed in four others. Highland Avenue has a career earnings of $209,579. As Highland Avenue has aged, Appleby has seen improvements.
“He is maturing with age,” Appleby said.
Appleby hasn’t laid out a complete plan for the race in Bahrain in November. There are still some details in the works that he and his team would like to solidify.
“We are sure to support their carnival, but no set plans as yet,” Appleby said.
But keeping up with races in the GCC season is something Appleby enjoys doing. From Appleby’s experience, he can see the excitement that goes along with horse racing in that part of the world. As their events become more high-profile, he expects the sports to continue climbing in prestige.
“With their investment, needless to say, their racing will become stronger,” Appleby said.
Appleby is quite sure of that. When describing what it is like to race in Bahrain, he thought concisely.
“Fun!” Appleby said.
By Dean McHugh