Appleby Looks To Keep Perfect BC Record Intact

Charlie Appleby | Getty

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DEL MAR, California–In 2013, trainer Charlie Appleby capped his first season as a Godolphin trainer with a win by Outstrip (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita. Four years on, the 42-year-old Brit has recorded top-level victories for Sheikh Mohammed across the globe, from Britain and France to Australia, but he returns to the Breeders' Cup this weekend at Del Mar for the first time since that initial visit looking to keep his perfect record intact with the two-horse team of Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Masar (GB) (New Approach {Ire}).

Appleby said his absence is simply down to a desire to be as competitive as possible.

“I've always felt, as much as these trips are great to be apart of, I want to make sure we come with the right horse and be competitive; it's a long way to come just to turn up for the fun of it all,” he said. “Breeders' Cup puts on a great event so it's great to be here and we hope we've brought the right horses that are going to be competitive on the weekend.”

The 3-year-old Wuheida is 20-1 on the morning line for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf after drawing post five and looks for her first win of the year. Wuheida became the first 2-year-old Group 1 winner by Dubawi when scooping last year's Prix Marcel Boussac over good ground. She made a belated seasonal debut this year when second to the three-time Group 1 winner Roly Poly (War Front), who re-opposes on Saturday, and was stifled by soft ground when third in the G1 Preis Der Diana in August. She was beaten 1 3/4 lengths when fourth in the G1 Matron S. a month later and again had the ground go against her when fourth, beaten three-quarters of a length, by another returning rival, Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), in the Oct. 1 G1 Prix de l'Opera. Wuheida made the trip to Kentucky for the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Oct. 14, but was pulled from that race after developing a corn on a foot.

Appleby said he is looking forward to getting the chestnut back on her preferred fast surface.

“Wuheida brings a good level of form from Europe,” he said. “I think the quicker ground will suit her. I think she ticks a lot of boxes, which she can hopefully prove on Saturday.”

Masar comes into Friday's GI Juvenile Turf with similar credentials to Outstrip at the same point in his career. Like Outstrip, Masar comes into the race with a Group 3 win and a Group 1-placing under his girth. A debut winner at Goodwood in May, he was third in Royal Ascot's Listed Chesham S. before lifting the G3 Solario S. by two lengths on Sept. 2. He was beaten just 1 1/2 lengths by the filly Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) over soft ground in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Oct. 1, and will appreciate the return to quicker going when he breaks from post six on Friday.

“On the last start that ground was really slow for him, which he struggled in,” Appleby said. “[Masar and Wuheida] both have good draws and they're both strong travelers, and I think that's a positive on these tight tracks; you've got to be up there and traveling. Both of them tick a lot of boxes and hopefully we'll see them be competitive on the weekend.”

Wuheida shipped in from Keeneland, where she stayed after her Queen Elizabeth setback, and has “gone well and thrived since she's been down here,” according to Appleby. She was joined on Saturday by Masar.

“He's done a little bit of traveling in Europe, he went to France obviously and this helps with the experience side of it,” the trainer said. “They traveled well and had their first morning out on the track this morning and took it very well.”

Although Appleby makes his keenly awaited return to the Breeders' Cup, he has been a constant force on other international racing circuits, much the chagrin of his rival trainers. This has perhaps been nowhere truer than in Australia, where Appleby last spring won stakes races with five of 10 starters. He added the G1 Sydney Cup in the autumn with Polarisation (GB) (Echo Of Light {GB}), and Folkswood (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) won the Oct. 15 Listed Cranbourne Cup before finishing third last weekend behind Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 Cox Plate.

“We're in a very fortunate position with the number of horses we have back in Europe,” Appleby said. “With Godolphin, we want to be known as a global operation, and therefore competing at the high end on the international stage. We were very fortunate last year, we went to Australia and did particularly well. Folkswood went around very well in the Cox Plate and he won the Cranbourne before that and he'll hopefully head to the [G1] Emirates there in a couple weeks' time. Polarisation winning the Sydney Cup was a nice feather in the cap. It's all about having the right horses and making sure the trip is worthwhile.”

It isn't just on his travels that Appleby has enjoyed a fruitful year. He has been successful on the home front as well, his 70 winners of 94 races in Britain in 2017–many of which were exciting 2-year-olds–contributing handsomely to Godolphin taking out the leading owner title. Appleby pointed to the 2-year-old colt Sound and Silence (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) as an example of how the stable has stayed strong through the year. Sound and Silence has won or placed in six of eight runs including a win in Royal Ascot's Listed Windsor Castle S.

“I brought Sound and Silence over here to run in a stakes race on the undercard on Saturday. He was my first 2-year-old winner back in Europe at the Craven meeting and he's still going strong,” Appleby said. “He deserved the trip over here and I think he'll run a big race on Saturday. The 2-year-olds have campaigned well through the summer and we've picked up some nice races, and are hopefully going into our European winter we have some nice horses we can put away and live the dream for the winter and potentially look at Classic potential.”

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